ARMOR  Adventures Across the Multiverse
by Sinister2004
Summary: This is the tale of the ARMOR agency at Marvel Anthology    Director Brian Braddock leads his team into a very dangerous war against an alternate Magus.
1. Chapter 1

**A.R.M.O.R. #1**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 1**

**Law #1- The Non-Interference Law**

**Clause 1: The M.D.A. (Multidimensional Alliance) will not interfere in N.D.A.'s (Non-Dimensional Activities) unless those N.D.A's pose a direct threat to the agenda of The M.D.A. A council of Directors putting it to a majority vote will determine this exception.**

**Clause 2: N.D.A. interference is allowed when first encountering a world to prompt that world into M.D.A. membership. The Lead Director encountering that world will determine the stopping point of that interference. **

**Clause 3: The Lead Director can only be overridden by a 3/4s vote of 200 randomly chosen Directors. **

**THE BLEED (The Mukuru- The Center Chamber)**

An elderly Battlestar waved his hand over a large square red button on the floating computer screen in front of him and a resounding blare went through the giant, egg-shaped chamber. "This Director's meeting is being called to order."

The chamber was large enough to fit two thousand and every floating chair was filled. There were far more than two thousand Directors, but trying to fit all one hundred thousand into one meeting would have been insanity. Instead, every meeting would randomly chose two thousand to meet and any decisions issued would be disseminated to the other directors.

The chairs were lined vertically up and down the walls of the chamber. Each chair sat a Director of the M.D.A., but they were too far away from each other to communicate on a low-key basis. They had to speak through microphones directly to the assembly. The separation of the chairs prevented side chatter and potential tension.

The elderly Battlestar leaned forward into his microphone creating some feedback as his beard rubbed against it. "We are here to discuss the matter of the peril facing Earth-97701 and our security prison. But before we get to that, has there been any news in regards to Fugitive 227?"

In order to address the assembly, a Director had to press the red button on a floating computer screen interface each one of them possessed. Then it was up to the Presidential Director to decide the order of who spoke.

Battlestar looked down at his interface and saw the list of those who had pressed their buttons. "Delegate from Earth-1455 you are free to speak."

Norman Osborn leaned forward and spoke into his microphone. "We have tracked Dawn to Earth-9154 and she is hiding amongst the populace. There is no M.D.A. presence on that world so we would be going in with little to no intelligence. Unfortunately, my team isn't quite equipped to handle a cosmic threat with meager intelligence about the world we're walking into."

Battlestar nodded. "Delegate from Earth-27538 you are free to speak."

Swordsman lifted up his facemask, revealing a young Kurt Marko and said, "Dawn is from my world. We can help in bringing her in."

"Then we'll allow you to lead some of the squads into Earth-9154 to retrieve her. Mission specifics will be worked out later. Now, we turn to the main matter at hand. Earth-97701 is where we currently house all of our dimensional fugitives, as everyone here knows. That universe's Mars has been converted for us into a massive security prison for our use, but that prison now stands in grave danger. We're going to have to decide what to do. I will let the delegate from Earth-97701 open the floor."

A young woman with blue crystalline skin tapped her microphone, not being use to such archaic technology, and spoke. "My Earth has been at war for nearly 25 years against The Magus and his army. Our allies, the Shi'ar and Uncreated, have been defeated and now we stand on the edge of attack. My world will not survive a direct attack from The Magus' army without aid and I think we all know what will happen if my world falls. The prison will be taken and there is no telling what The Magus will decide with those criminals. The M.D.A. could be facing a very serious problem if that was to occur. This alliance needs to help us survive."

Battlestar leaned back in his chair and rubbed his beard. He knew the threat was grave, but more than one voice needed to be heard. "Delegate from Earth-28651 you can go ahead and give us your thoughts."

Lula Kravinoff held no sympathy for the woman and her world. She was a descendant of Parker and deserved none of her pity. "Our resources should not be used to help this world win its war. I suggest we evacuate the prison and spare our valuable people unnecessary harm."

After her, a version of Namora was called forward to speak. "My world has the technology to destroy the Mars planet and still maintain a mostly non-interfering role."

Alise was fuming. They were talking about her world like it was already doomed. Was no one going to stand up for her Earth?

"Delegate from Earth-792 you have the floor."

Captain Britain took a breath and said, "We have to help our fellow Earth regardless of how dangerous it may be. We have no right to simply destroy one of their planets and trying to evacuate the prison will take far too long. How can we even risk allowing one of those fugitives escaping? And what world is willing to become the new prison for these criminals? I know my world certainly isn't. The M.D.A. has a policy of non-interference, but this would very clearly impact us on a number of levels."

Battlestar smiled. "Then let us put it to a vote. Do we directly interfere in this affair or seek some other option?"

Captain Britain was glad that The Presidential Director had allowed him to have the last word. He could only hope his words would be enough to save Alise's world. His A.R.M.O.R. had worked with her world in the past and she was a valuable asset to the M.D.A. To let her world fall without a fight would be foolish. So with hope in his heart, he pushed his red button once to express favor for the first choice Battlestar presented.

After a few minutes of bated breaths and mumbling curses, Battlestar was able to look down at his interface and see that all the votes were in. Looking up, he leaned forward into his microphone and said, "With a vote of 1176 to 824, the M.D.A. will assist Earth-97701 in the defense of their world. You will receive notification in two standard dimensional days if your world is going to be involved. But I can tell you who the Lead Director will be. Earth-792 will lead the charge for us."

**ATLANTA, GA Earth-792 (Home)**

Portal reached across the table and sat his hand down on top of Gaia's. "It's been such a long time since we actually got a chance to sit down and just enjoy the day."

Gaia looked at him with a teasing smile. "Sentimental? That just doesn't suit you baby."

"That's before you had me all gaga eyes."

The noise of the crowd around them prevented the couple from getting spied on. While The Cheesecake Factory wasn't Atlanta's fanciest restaurant, it was certainly one of its most crowded. There wasn't a day when the place wasn't wall to wall and the young couple loved it. Anonymity was sacred in the circles they traversed with. At A.R.M.O.R. HQ they were celebrities of a sort so their relationship was constantly buzzing around the installation. Gaia didn't mind the attention seeing how she spent much of her life in solitude, but Portal wasn't a fan of it. He had never been shown a great deal of fawning from anyone so he was naturally mistrusting of it.

Their waiter came to the table and brought Gaia a glass of strawberry lemonade. She took a sip of it, pushed it to the side and said, "Sometimes I wish our work didn't have to be secret. SHIELD operates in the open and I don't see why we can't."

Charles buttered up some of the complimentary bread. "People aren't ready to get a full glimpse at the work we do."

"That's bull baby. These people see superheroes fight on a regular, deal with all sorts of hidden societies and even alien invasions. I'm pretty damn sure they could handle what we do."

Portal shrugged. He was trying not to laugh because his girlfriend's cussing never sounded natural. She had picked it up during her brief time with Generation X, but she only used it when trying to stress a point. Cussing's original purpose. So while he loved his girl's enthusiasm, he just wasn't buying it. "And if they could then what? Do we let them travel to other worlds? Could you imagine the immigration nightmare we'd have from that? Let's say there was a utopian world out there and people demanded to be let into it. I don't even want to think what Republicans would try to do if A.R.M.O.R. was made public."

Gaia let out a long sigh and played with her napkin on the table. "I guess you're right. I just hate having to be bottled up. I spent a very long time being trapped somewhere all alone. It would be nice to get some attention every now and then."

Portal reached his hand across the table and put his hand under Gaia's chin. He lifted her head up so they could see eye to eye. "Isn't my attention enough?"

She laughed and pushed his hand away. "Of course it is Charles. You know that. I guess I would like to meet more people is all. I feel like I've missed so much."

That prompted Portal to ask the question he had been holding off months to ask. He just wasn't sure the response he would get, but he had received conflicting reports. "Just how old are you Gaia?"

"Well, I knew that question was coming sooner or later," Gaia said, but she stopped because the waiter returned to the table with their entrees. When he was gone, she started again. "As far as I know I'm over 500 years old, but time was fluid in The Universal Amalgamator. So I don't exactly feel it you know? I just know I missed a lot of time."

"So you were alive in The Middle Ages?"

"Well, I don't think it was called that in my dimension," Gaia said. Portal's face froze and she could tell he was trying to lock his expression. "Yes, I'm not from this dimension either."

Portal was almost starting to wish that he hadn't asked now, but at least she wasn't pissed with him. He always figured the words women and age should never be put into the form of a question. "So why stay here then?"

Gaia let out another long sigh. "I just liked it better here I guess. Sometimes I think about going back home, but I'm not sure. Wouldn't exactly call it a nice place."

Portal read through that. Something horrible was back on her world and it was enough for her to stay here. "What's wrong with it?"

Gaia looked down at her meal and stabbed into her chicken breast with a fork. "I rather not spoil dinner with the details. I'll tell you later."

"Ok," Portal knew he was going to get as much as he was going to get. There was no need to push for more and besides they were supposed to be on a date. He was a royal jackass for bringing it up in the first place. "So what kind of cheesecake you want to get?"

Gaia lit up like the past couple of minutes hadn't even occurred. "Oreo of course! Can't believe you would even ask silly."

Holding up his hands in mock defense, Charles said, "Just wanted to be sure. Figured you might have finally got some sense and decided to like strawberry."

"Whatever. My Oreo rocks and you know it!"

**THE MUKURU (Presidential Director's Office)**

Captain Britain shifted uncomfortably in his seat in an attempt to get himself relaxed, but no position seemed to bring the feeling he was looking for. "Sir, I'm just not sure that I'm the right Director for this job. Leading F.C.E* operations is one thing but taking on an actual Planetary Combat op is not something I think I can do effectively."

*(F.C.E. -First Contact Expedition)

Battlestar chewed on his pen for a moment and leaned back in his leather seat. "I think you can my friend. My world most certainly could have used a Brian Braddock. At least one of your caliber."

Brian ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. "I appreciate that Director, but I don't think I can do the job."

"I've read your history Brian. You've dealt with many serious threats on your world. You can handle this. Trust yourself and the people who will support you."

He wasn't sure if he was the person that Battlestar made him out to be. Leading an intergalactic alliance was a far cry from battling against Jim Jaspers, but the Director didn't look like he was going to budge either. "Ok. I'll do it. So what am I up against here?"

Battlestar opened up his desk and handed a blue vial to Brian. "The liquid in there is from Alise's world. She says if you drink it you'll have all the necessary information downloaded into your mind. Something to do with Egghead Particles or something to that effect, but she assured me it's perfectly safe."

Brian had worked with Alise enough times in the past to trust her word so he popped open the vial and threw its black contents down his throat. A burning sensation rushed down his throat, but the liquid had no real taste to it. He looked at Battlestar and said, "Maybe it takes a while to kick in."

Right then a rush of images and names pushed their way into Brian's psyche. Details and names that seemed familiar in some places, but completely out there in others. He knew who worked for The Magus and who made up his hierarchy of generals. The people who protected Earth-97701 and their allies were now firmly planted in Braddock's mind. President T'Chaka. The Seven. Steam Soldier and more were all familiar faces to him.

"Director Braddock? Are you alright?" the elderly Battlestar asked from across his desk. His wrinkles seemed more pronounced when he was worried, but considering that he had lived long past his expiration date it was excusable.

Brian put a hand to his head and shook it before taking a long whoosh of breath. "That was a rush! Didn't quite expect it, but I'm fine. So I guess it's time you tell me what A.R.M.O.R. units you're going to give me."

Battlestar smiled and three hundred years worth of wrinkles seemed to fade away. "Now that's more like it."

**NEXT ISSUE: Brian briefs his team on the threat that they face on Earth-97701.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A.R.M.O.R. #2**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 2**

**EARTH 97701 (In orbit over Hala)**

**Earth Year: 2200**

Selene smiled mischievously at the pacing of her commander. "You worry too much Magus. They will come."

The black and purple mass swirled around the large command room. Only The Magus' head wasn't in a gaseous state. He stopped swirling right above Selene's head. "You would not mind being my only General I think. Do not pretend your heart is with them, if you have such a thing."

Laughing, Selene sat down in the chair behind her with the care only an expectant goddess would take. She crossed her legs together and relaxed her shoulders. Holding out one palm, she playfully created a black rose in the center of it. "Long have I desired to be your sole confidant, but now is not the time."

"At least you have that much sense," The Magus said as he continued his swirling. Where were the rest? He had sent the all for them to assemble hours ago. Waiting for his underlings was a task that he was not accustomed to.

If any of the Generals were actually dead, Selene hoped that it was Frostsword. That wench had crossed her more times than it was healthy for the average mortal to. The only reason the slut wasn't dead was because The Magus had use for her. Selene yearned for the day when that was no longer the case. She would personally be the one to end the demi-god's life.

The Magus felt Selene's hate and found humor in it. Selene was as cutthroat as ever. He admired her desire for lasting power and immortality, but that desire overrode any sense of loyalty. She had no morals and he couldn't trust her. One time before she nearly let death claim him and if not for her army, he would have struck her down.

"At least have faith in Skaar," Selene said as she blew on the black rose and dispersed it into dust. "He is a capable man."

The door to the command room slid open and titanic green barbarian walked in. "Glad you noticed."

Floating above his General, The Magus asked, "Where are the others?"

"Frost is on her way. Arides and Cerebro are being held up by Technocrat's team."

The Magus despised Technocrat with a burning passion. He disrupted more operations than any one of T'Chaka's cronies. "Damn him! That fool is infuriating to his interference."

Selene liked to see The Magus emotional because it meant that he was off his game. He was at his most potent and uncontrollable when cold and calculating. That was no good for Selene's purposes. She preferred her men to be malleable. Emotions lent themselves better to manipulation.

"This is why we need to strike at Sol. They grow bold and need to be reminded who their betters are," Selene said as The Magus began his smoky pacing anew.

Skaar didn't even attempt to follow his master's path. "For once I agree with her. The rebels are regaining their courage."

"Plans are already in place for such an attack," The Magus said as he reformed his body and landed in front of Skaar. "That was the entire purpose of this meeting. With Sol's fall my empire will be firmly established."

Selene licked her lips. "And our immortality begins."

**A.R.M.O.R. Headquarters (Earth-792)**

Brian was standing on the stadium stage with the entirety of his A.R.M.O.R. staff in front of him. From the podium he was able to pick out the one person that wasn't part of his staff. He could only imagine what his visitor was going to tell him. Still, there wasn't time to sugarcoat anything.

"As of this moment this installation is going to be at TL-One. We are about to be engaged in a full-scale conflict. If any of you remember the Earth-12488 incursion then this is going to be a similar operation. I want all combat related staff to be ready for DT in 3 hours. Mission op specifics have been uploaded to all of your Stark-Pads. If anyone needs one I will be in a meeting with Field Team One."

Braddock stepped away from the podium and felt the eyes of his visitor locked on him as he stepped down from the stage. It didn't take long for the next step in the process to happen. "Director Braddock! Director Braddock!"

Brian turned to the sound of the voice and faked a smile. "Mr. Halloran I thought that was you I saw. What business brings you here?"

"We need to discuss this mission you're undertaking."

Brian nodded. "Walk with me then. I'm about to brief my top field team in detail. After that, you can ask me any questions you want. Sound like a plan?"

The unshapely, nerdy man nodded. "Yes, yes. That'll be fine."

Braddock smiled even though he was grimacing on the inside. He knew that he was about to have to hear an ear load of bureaucratic bollocks that wasn't going to benefit a single person in his organization. Halloran's presence was as annoying as he looked. Brian just hoped that he would be able to stall the man long enough to complete the mission to Earth-97701 without a hitch.

"Well then follow me. I'll tell you everything you need to know," Braddock said.

Halloran nodded and walked alongside Braddock. "Your work continues to impress the U.N. Mr. Braddock."

"How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Brian you silly chap."

Halloran shook despite himself from the strength in Brian's voice. "Of course. Well, Brian the United Nations is pleased with the job you have done thus far. A number of threats have been diverted due to your work."

A slim, redhead walked up to the two men and handed Captain Britain a clipboard. "This the list of A.R.M.O.R. units that will be deploying with us for this mission. Just came in sir."

Brian casually flipped through the listed units. "Thank you Mylene and good work."

"Yes sir," the woman smiled as she walked away from the two men. She gave a glance of compassion Halloran's way, but that was all.

"That was Mylene Drexler," Brian said as he held the clipboard to his side and continued walking. "Low level pyrokinetic. She's an agent from America."

Halloran stopped to fog and wipe his glasses. "Well, I'm sure she is of superior caliber. As are all the staff here. Which is why the U.N. doesn't want them made expendable."

Braddock frowned at the comment, but tried to not let the U.N. inspector notice. So it seemed that The United Nations had already made their assessment of his current mission. Well, to hell with them! He wasn't going to let the M.D.A. deal with thousands of escapees pouring back into the Multiverse. It wasn't going down on his watch and he had promised Battlestar he would take the lead. He didn't like breaking promises.

"I think you'll find my field team quite interesting," Brian said as he opened the door to the conference room where Field Team One was waiting.

**The Earth Assembly HQ (Earth-97701)**

President T'Chaka Stark sat behind his desk with a number of red, green, and blue holographic data screens floating in front of him. With a mere push of his finger he was able to flip through each screen like pages in a book. "Looks like we're taking losses in the Praxis and NCLB systems, but there have been reports that Skaar has left from that area."

Alise Parker paced back and forth in front of his desk. Her crystalline almost caused a glare in the brightly lit room. "Then it's as we feared. The Magus is calling them together and they're going to make a move against us."

Stark sighed. "Then we need to be prepared. I'm going to have to talk with S.W.O.R.D. about mobilizing The Deathloks here on Earth. Blue Marvel and Technocrat will need to be recalled back to Earth and the Jupiter Moon Defense Systems will need to be reactivated."

Parker stopped pacing and clinched up with military precision. "The Deathloks sir? Are you sure that's necessary. The M.D.A. will provide us—

"I will not take that risk. You vouch for this version of Captain Britain and I trust your opinion, but I want all angles to be covered. I'm going to be calling a meeting with the Five Continental Governors in an hour. I want you to be there to explain exactly what the M.D.A. is going to provide for us."

Alise nodded. The expression on Stark's face showed clear worry, but she wasn't sure whether it stemmed from the pending invasion or having to deal with the Governors. They had to be hands down the most difficult collection of people in the galaxy to deal with. At the end of the day, the President could not make certain actions without their approval so he had to work with them. Parker would have preferred to just show them all the nearest airlock. It didn't help that the African governor happened to be her ex-boyfriend.

Stark must have figured that thought would cross her mind. "Are you ok speaking with Amiri?"

"He's just a man. I'm over us. I'll be fine."

She knew that was a lie because she thought about what she had with Amiri everyday. They had been engaged and nearly were down the aisle when she found out about his infidelity. Alise knew her father was saying, "I told you so" from the grave. He had warned her from the beginning that Amiri was a Nur and they just weren't the kind of people you wanted to be around. But she decided to follow her heart and look where it got her. Bottled up in her work and alone.

Then a thought flashed through her pity party. "You know he is going to want to resurrect The Horsemen?"

Stark smiled wearily. His white teeth shone even brighter against his ebony skin. "His family's legacy. I already anticipated that, but the scary thing is…I might actually agree with him."

Alise's dress suddenly felt three sizes smaller. "You can't be serious? The Horsemen nearly burnt Europe to the ground. The place is still recovering nearly two centuries later!"

The President understood his old friend's passion, but greater things were at stake than covering old family wounds. "The Magus will burn all of Earth and we won't recover. If there are tools we can use to save our world then we need to use them. No questions asked."

Alise leaned forward on T'Chaka's desk and pushed her face through his holographic interfaces. "If you let those animals loose I'll be tending my resignation with you once Earth is safe."

The two locked eyes for an intense moment and T'Chaka finally relented. "I'll just have to accept that Alise. But think for a moment what that will do to the continuity of this war effort. Saving Earth does not go hand in hand with beating Magus. It may, but that's not assured so think long and hard."

Pushing herself off his desk, Alise finally felt like she could breath again. "I'll see you at the meeting."

She turned and walked out the door.

**A.R.M.O.R. Headquarters (Earth-792)**

Brian sat at the head of the table with Mr. Halloran to his right. "Everyone, I think you remember Mr. Halloran. He's hear to bring us some news from the United Nations."

Shevaun Haldane, the woman known as Dark Angel, was at the opposite end of the table. "I hope it isn't a bunch of bollocks. You politico types are known for that kind of rubbish."

Halloran seemed a bit rattled by that comment, but managed to put on a half-smile as he sat his briefcase down. "Not at all ma'am. We're just wanting to bring some concerns to light."

Captain Britain jumped in before Halloran could continue any further. "Before our guest here lays out anything, I want to field any questions about our coming mission. Have you all reviewed the dossier on Earth-97701?

Shevaun yawned. "Of course boss, but I don't know why. Not like we haven't worked with Alise in the past."

"Working with her and actually dealing with her world are two different things. There are certain people and things we have to be prepared for. We're going into an all-out warzone. So I want all of my people going into it to be prepared."

Wiccan raised a hand and waited for Braddock to acknowledge him. "Have you figured out any specific mission parameters for us?"

Brian smiled. He could see through his agent. "You want a chance at Selene don't you?"

"From what I've read she's amassed quite a bit of mystical artifacts. You know I don't feel particularly kind towards those who are magical hoarders."

Portal rolled his eyes. "Is that why you've got so many trinkets?"

Gaia elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs while still maintaining a smile. She knew her lover had a bit of asshole in him and she loved him for that flaw, but now wasn't the time. Besides, the only thing Wiccan had ever done to Portal was eating the last box of Fruity Pebbles. Charles had held a grudge with Wiccan over it ever since. She probably needed to tell Wiccan to buy a box to smooth things over.

Brian picked up on the slight jerking movement of Portal and tried to contain a laugh. "I haven't laid out any specific missions yet. I want to get all the A.R.M.O.R. units in front of me before I start divvying up duties. I also want the chance to speak with President Stark."

Halloran blinked his eyes in disbelief. "As in Tony Stark?"

Motormouth shook her head. "That would be too weird!"

Mindbender adjusted his red and green sunglasses as he puffed on a cigarette. "Trust me gel. There's plenty of stuff on this world that throws me for a loop."

Brian could tell that Halloran was beginning to get overwhelmed by all the information being thrown his way. All the better. "This Stark is the descendant of Tony Stark and Black Panther. He is the President of Earth and who I will need to deal with in order to make sure our mission is successful."

Halloran could take no more. He was going to have to speak up. "That is precisely why I am here Mr. Braddock! The United Nations will not stand for our A.R.M.O.R. agents being casually thrown away!"

**Next Issue: The UN is not happy with A.R.M.O.R.'s current mission, but Brian is going to show them why they don't have any choice in the matter. Alise and Stark meet with the Continental Governors about what has to be done to save Earth. How does Bastion play into that?**

**SUPPLEMENTAL INFO**

This is something I'm going to try and do at the end of every A.R.M.O.R. issue. It's to offer up some supplementary information to explain things I might not be able to get into the story because they're extraneous information, but still kind of fun to me anyway. Certain terms may get explained here and backstory on different worlds may be provided. Just all in good fun.

So for this issue…

**People of power in Earth-97701's government**

President T'Chaka Stark- He's the top of the food chain

Alise Parker- Head of A.R.M.O.R.

Josiah Rage- Head of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Vulcan- Head of S.W.O.R.D.

Fire Mage- Head of X-Force

Amiri Nur- Continental Governor of Africa

Lorien Lensherr- Continental Governor of Europe

Sable Voleur- Continental Governor of the Americas

Tucker Grimm- Continental Governor of Australia

Kiriko Nguyen- Continental Governor of Asia


	3. Chapter 3

**A.R.M.O.R. #3**

Planetary Strike Pt. 3

"It is the wish of the United Nations that A.R.M.O.R. does not participate in what they have deemed to be a useless exercise," Mr. Halloran said as he did his best to not tremble under the glare of the superhumans. The only one sparing him an angry stare was Charles Littlesky, but that was only a minimal relief.

Brian knew something negative was going to be hurled his way. The UN only sent their stooges when they had an issue. He almost felt bad for Halloran. "I would like to remind the United Nations that they signed The M.D.A. charter which includes mutual defense."

"But defending involves fighting. Something those UN sods can't wrap their puny heads around," Motormouth said. She figured that insulting politicians should be an international pastime. They always made it so damn easy.

Halloran could feel the sweat piling on top of his hands. "If pulling out of the M.D.A is required to prevent this action then the UN is prepared to take that step."

Dark Angel sucked her teeth. "Figures. Do any of your bosses have a brain?"

Portal seemed completely relaxed despite the obvious tension of his squad mates. "Maybe we need to hear them out. We are rushing into this."

Gaia rolled her yes. "You're just mad that Alise slapped you."

Charles threw his arms up. "For no good reason."

Brian was glad Gaia stepped in. She always knew how to keep Portal in line. "The M.D.A. is a safety net we cannot afford to lose. Think of the consequences. If we pull out and our ally falls who do you think The M.D.A. will blame? Who do you think they will retaliate against?"

Mindbender looked Halloran straight in the eyes. "Does you UN fancy it can fight off a thousand worlds mate?"

"Or an invasion from the endless number of interdimensional empires?" Motormouth asked. Her MOPED technology had allowed her to glimpse the horror of many realities and the people who sought to conquer them. There were things out there no one world could hope to fight off alone.

"How long do you think our world could survive someone like Hyperstorm?" Wiccan asked wistfully.

Mindbender shrugged. "Maybe a day or two."

Halloran went over the possibilities they had presented. "The UN simply does not want valuable personnel being wasted."

"but they rather planetary war. Sounds real smart there mate," Mindbender said as he continued smoking his cigarette. He didn't think his world's A.R.M.O.R. had to deal with as much politics.

Portal smirked at his squad member's comment. "This coming from the man whose first name is Palin."

"That's starting to get real old," Mindbender said as psionic fire trickled out of the corner of his eye.

"Not to me," Portal said to another rib check from his girlfriend.

Braddock ignored the banter. "Mr. Halloran we need you to stall for us. This mission has to be done."

What Halloran wanted to do was curl up in the nearest corner and wait until all of this was over. "Ok. I'll see what I can do. Just try to come back in one piece. I might keep my job that way."

Brian hugged him vigorously and said, "Thank you! You may have just saved billions."

That only made Halloran want to faint. He could already feel himself getting light-headed.

**The Earth Assembly HQ (Earth-97701)**

Alise walked into President Stark's office with her head held low. She felt bad for threatening T'Chaka earlier. They had been friends too long and he deserved better. He was fighting a war and was trying to make sure Earth was left standing when all said and done. Every option needed to at least be considered even if some turned Alise's stomach. The idea of The Horsemen being free would scare any rationale person. They had murdered her great ancestor, Peter Parker.

Amiri only wanted to free them to give himself greater power and fulfill a family wish. When she was involved with him, he always talked about how Titus Nur had failed to control The Horsemen, but that one day a real Nur would. They argued about the vents surrounding those creatures for hours on end. He contended that Apocalypse had created The Horsemen in an effort to make Earth stronger. If Apocalypse had been allowed to do his work then Earth would have beat back The Magus long ago.

"So are you ready to do this?" Stark asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Doubt their disposition is going to change in five minutes."

Stark threw back his head in laughter. "That is something we can both agree on. These Governors have easily got to be my biggest headache. I rather have Skaar stomping around in this office."

Alise was sure he wouldn't feel that way if he actually had to encounter Skaar. She had personally seen him make a joke of The Kree Royal Guard. "Be careful what you wish for T'Chaka."

The holographic interfaces in front of President Stark flickered for a moment and then the faces of the Continental Governors appeared on each one. Not a single one of them looked the least bit pleasant. Amiri appeared the fiercest, but Nurs usually had strong, fearsome faces. The blood of Apocalypse flowed strongly still despite centuries of it diluting. Alise looked him straight tin those red eyes and for a moment she could have sworn his expression softened. Probably just seeing what she wanted to.

"Greetings Governors! I'm glad that you were able to meet with me on such short notice."

Amiri's every word spat out like powerful venom. "It was my pleasure president Stark. I am always ready to serve the best interests of Earth."

Where Nur was venom, Governor Nguyen was ice. "Our duty is to answer when you call."

"Still, it was short notice so I appreciate it."

Grimm huffed and said, "Can we cut the formal dung and get to the meat already?"

The other Governors all silently agreed. Alise never cared for Governor Grimm's abrupt manner, but that seemed a lasting trait in his family. Their fathers had come to blows on more than one occasion over it. At the time, Alise didn't mind seeing Dad knocked down a peg or two. Now she understood exactly why he would always get so pissed. Grimm had the manners of a starving bear in a dumpster.

"I've called you all here because crucial information has been gathered by S.W.O.R.D. and S.H.I.E.L.D. The Magus is planning to assault our solar system in a matter of days."

Amiri spoke quickly. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Without a doubt Governor Nur. I have you called you all here to mobilize our forces. The M.D.A. has already agreed to provide assistance."

Governor Voleur frowned. "Do you really think their assistance will be enough?"

Alise had always found Sable Voleur to be a beautiful woman and one worthy of respect. She was a veteran of X-Force and had done many years of hard service in the war against The Magus. Her silver hair and lipstick were as bright as her aim was true. Parker had hoped that if any of the Governors were receptive to The M.D.A.'s help that it would have been her. It appeared that she was mistaken. Suddenly that hair didn't seem so bright anymore.

"The M.D.A. will be providing us a tremendous amount of assistance, but no it will not be enough. That is why I have brought all of you here. I want to discuss certain possibilities that we may need to consider in order to properly defend this solar system."

Amiri wasted no time. "Then it is imperative that The Horsemen be allowed to be resurrected. With their assistance Earth will be able to stand. Give me the authorization President Stark and you'll have them revived within the hour!"

Sable laughed. "You can't be serious Nur! Do you really think we're going to allow Apocalypse's freaks to walk the Earth once again? Need I remind anyone of London?"

Lorien's expression was mangled by historic grief. "I certainly don't need to be reminded."

Amiri wasn't going to be deterred. "I can control them. I am not Titus Nur! What choice do we have in the face of annihilation?"

"We can reactive Bastion and the Prime Sentinels," Voleur said.

Grimm snickered. "No offense lady, but that's just as crazy as letting The Horsemen run loose."

Governor Nguyen shook her raven locks. "Madness on top of madness! You two are lucky our President is blessed with sense."

Stark took a deep breath and ran his hands through his coarse beard. This was going to be the deep breath before the plunge. Back when he was campaigning for office, his opponents said his youth would make him impulsive and that he would make decisions leading to Earth's doom. He hoped now more than ever that his opponents were dead wrong.

"Voleur you'll get your wish. Reactive Bastion and the Prime Sentinels. I also want The Omega Sentinel back online."

Sable started to smile, but it quickly faded away. "The Omega Sentinel? Mr. President I'm not sure if that's really necessary. Bastion should be—

"Activate her!" Stark yelled. "And Amiri bring back the damn Horsemen. I've already given Rage the authorization to activate The Deathloks. Blue Marvel and The Argonauts have been recalled to Earth along with Technocrat and Force Works. We just can't afford to hold back. Grimm?"

Tucker tensed up because he already knew what he was going to get asked. "Yes sir?"

"Release The Heralds."

**A.R.M.O.R. HQ (Earth-792)**

With the briefing now over, Gaia ran out of the conference room with Portal chasing behind her. "Gaia wait up! Wait!"

She finally stopped her jog and waited for Portal to catch up to her. He tried to give her a playful smile. "What's wrong with you?"

Gaia poked a finger into his green shirt. "Why are you always so damn petty? You pick fight with Palin and Wiccan over absolutely nothing."

"So is that what's this about? Gaia swooping in to save the weak guys?"

Gaia stomped her foot. "AND you were about actually give Halloran room to breathe. You would see a whole world destroyed for a slap!"

At that point, Portal returned the anger. "You're wrong! I'm looking out for you and me. These people caused their own damn war and I don't like the idea of us having to fix it. We got enough problems here."

The outburst made her relax. "What do you mean? How did they cause it?"

"See, that's the problem. You guys just buy whatever Braddock feeds you. I did some more research beyond what he gave us. The heroes of that world set The magus loose."

"Why?" Gaia asked genuinely heartbroken at the idea of any Earth's heroes doing that. Portal forgot how emotionally sensitive she was.

"They got desperate. Some new freak was giving them hell."

White smoke spread low across the floor and rushed towards the couple. It shot upward and turned into a sculpture of Wiccan that the real one stepped out of. "If you're going to tell the story then tell it right. The god Set created an earthly avatar named Tichondrius. This coming right after the all out war with The Cabal. They were crippled and tired."

Portal shook his head. 'You would make excuses for them."

Gaia picked up a stray thought with her telepathy. "He killed Thor!"

Wiccan nodded. "And ransacked Olympus."

"You forgot a part. They got killed because they were trying to use him as a weapon. Their own arrogance got them killed. Don't try to make them look like hapless victims."

Wiccan sneered at Portal. "As self-serving as you are I figured you would be the first to understand why they did what they did."

**Defenders Orbital Base (Earth-97701)**

**Year: 2021**

It was the safest place they could all think of to meet en masse. The base hadn't' been used for years, but Amadeus _(Crusader)_ had the place back online in an hour. He wasn't the world's greatest engineer for just hyperbole's sake. Songbird _(Defender)_ would have preferred the place stay shut down. Too many bad memories, but everyone was rattled by the deaths of Thor and Warlock Xavier.

Everyone was looking for the first person to speak. Finally, Rogue _(X-Man)_ spoke. "I think we in some deep shit yall."

Winter Soldier _(Avenger)_ laughed. "Thanks for stating the obvious. Now what do we do about it?"

Cho had his own idea. "We should banish Tichondrius to The Negative Zone."

Winter Soldier had spent a few years on assignment in the Zone so he knew some of its basics. "We can't do that. Otherwise we risk him terrorizing some other world. One that may not have any superhumans at all."

Goliath _(Avenger)_ couldn't agree more. "What's to stop Set from just creating another avatar? We can't pile all of them into The Negative Zone. It's not feasible."

Rogue frowned. "So we need to shut Tichondrius and Set up at the same time."

Her husband, Warpath, grimaced. "Xavier tried that and look where it got him."

Red Wasp _(Crusader)_ seemed like he was about to bust. "We may have to fight fire with fire."

Songbird didn't like the sounds of that one bit. Hank Pym had crazy ideas wrapped up in him that always proved more detrimental than beneficial. It was because of his Jocasta Drones that Techno and Atlas were dead. What really pissed her off was how Pym always dodged his way out of taking responsibility for his creations. Atlas and Techno were not the only deaths on Pym's head. The entire country of San Marco owed their fates to him, but no one wanted to hold him accountable.

Attuma _(Avenger)_ wasn't too crazy about Red Wasp either. "What sea sludge idea have you bubbled up now?"

"Who was the last person that gave us as much trouble as Tichondrius?"

Gravity _(Defender) _remembered all too well who that was. His old team, the Young Allies, had been murdered by him. "What are you getting at Pym?"

"Tichondrius is the avatar of a dark god. We need someone capable of attacking that threat in the most aggressive manner possible. We need to set The Magus free."

The Blue Marvel, leader of the Avengers, was horrified at the idea. "Absolutely not! Have you lost your damn mind Hank? We're getting old, but I don't think dementia has set in yet."

Hank flapped his wings above his fellow heroes. "Why not? We contained The Magus once and we can do it again. Why not use him as a weapon?"

Gravity wanted to yank the fool right out of the sky. "Because he murdered my whole team and might kill another. He's unstable man and not the kind of person who gets used."

Amadeus snapped his fingers and chimed in. "I could create a device that would keep The Magus' mind scrambled to all but one thing. Then this focus would be solely on killing Tichondrius."

Hellion _(X-Man)_ put a hand on Gravity's shoulder to calm him down. He knew Gregg's pain because he had lost his team against The Cabal. "Are you sure a device like that could work?"

"Absolutely! You're talking to the guy who tamed The Hulks."

Blue Marvel knew the arrogance of geniuses because he was one. "No, we can't do this. We'll find another way."

Hank was now red in the face. "Why? Because you say so? If you had made the hard choice in Wakanda a lot more of us would be here right now."

The Blue Marvel wanted to reply so bad that his lips were trembling, but he couldn't. Hank was right. The New Warriors were gone because he couldn't kill Satana. His morals had cost lives and he didn't want anymore on his head. So he would let his friends decide and live with their decision.

Scorpion _(X-Man)_ leaned over to Rogue and whispered, "I think he just cut Marvel's balls off."

Genis-Vell saw the anger on Songbird's face and knew his wife did not like where any of this was going. "I know all about hard choices Hank, but this is stupidity. Do you want San Marco on a global scale?"

Amadeus couldn't believe the negativity. "We can do this guys!"

"I think the kid might be right," Winter Soldier said to the surprise of many in the room.

Songbird had had enough. "You try to set him free and my team will fight you Hank."

"Same for mines," Rogue said.

Hank was adamant. "Then you'll find me waiting."

**A.R.M.O.R. HQ (Earth-792)**

Gaia looked back at forth at Portal and Wiccan as they finished the story. "So what happened? It couldn't have just ended like that."

Wiccan sighed, "Both sides made good on their promises unfortunately. Hank tried to free The Magus and those opposed to him attacked."

"Don't try to make it look like some tragedy," Portal said. "If Songbird was smart she would have just taken out Hank at that meeting. Instead he won. Pym transported and trapped The X-Men in The Negative Zone. After that, Songbird grew some balls and tried to off him, but it was too late. Pym let his secret weapon loose then."

A silence fell then and Gaia, much like a child hearing a bedtime story, said, "Who? Don't leave me hanging!"

Wiccan whispered the name, "The Sentry."

Portal didn't feel any sympathy for the heroes of Earth-97701. They screwed up when it counted most. Why should he care about how they screwed themselves over? Portal had been too countless worlds and knew that some were just packed with idiots. Obviously, that Earth's heroes fell into that category. Now his girlfriend was being asked to put his life at risk and so was he. For a world that didn't seem to have the slightest bit of intelligence.

He elaborated on what Wiccan wouldn't. "Not just The Sentry. A Sentry hopped up on a dozen different power enhancement drugs. He tossed The Defenders around like they were rag paper and bam! The Magus is free. That's the world we're being asked to protect. A world where the heroes can't even solve a disagreement without killing each other. So sue me if I think Halloran has a point."

"No world is perfect Portal. If you can't see that then why are you even here?" Wiccan asked as he turned to walk away from the couple. He had had enough of Littlesky.

Portal ran up behind Wiccan and yanked him back so that they were face to face. "Don't try to get all self-righteous on me Billy! The Carmondians invaded Earth-521 four days ago and we lost all contact with them, but the M.D.A. isn't lifting a finger to help them because it doesn't fall under the rules. Yet, we're breaking that rule for this Earth. What makes them better? What gives them the right?"

Wiccan could say nothing as Portal continued his barrage. "And what about Earth-670? Serenity practically begged for the M.D.A. to help, but they weren't moved an iota. So don't try that moral shit with me. Saving this world is all about politics. Not worthiness."

Gaia understood her boyfriend's anger and was beginning to share in it, but what could they do? The rules were unfortunately the rules. She took her boyfriend's hand and said, "C'mon baby. We should just go. I need some company before we go."

Portal was still breathing hard, but tried to relax some. He could see that he was scaring Gaia. "Ok. Let's go."

The couple left Wiccan alone in the hallway. He couldn't bring himself to judge Portal a moment further and he couldn't tell them that he hadn't known about Earth-521. Billy had made a close friend there and all his thoughts were suddenly on his safety. The sorcerer fell to his knees and buried his hands in his face as he began to cry.

**NEXT ISSUE: What do Brian and Portal promise Wiccan? And how will Brian feel about President Stark's decisions? **

SUPPLEMENTAL INFO

_So for this installment I'm going to give you a rundown of The Blue Marvel's team, The Argonauts._

**THE BLUE MARVEL (Adam Brashear)-** Earth's greatest hero and one of the few remaining heroes still alive from the 21st century. He is at the front lines of the war against The Magus. He has tremendous super strength, speed, and invulnerability along with flight.

**GRAVITY (Gregg Willis) -** The Cosmic Protector appointed by Eon in the year 2030. He, like The Blue Marvel, is one of the few heroes left from the 21st century. He's bitter at how things went down with The Magus and wishes he had done more to prevent it. He is a powerful gravity manipulator.

**ARCHMAGE (Delilah Markus)-** She's a member of The Order of Knives and is Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. She is the first one to hold the title since Tichondrius killed Warlock Xavier. Her order was nearly wiped out by Selene so Delilah yearns for vengeance.

**BLIZZARD (Engrid Worthington)-** She is a direct descendant of Warren Worthington and Candy Southern. Her skin burns to the touch as it is always four hundred degrees below zero. She has wings made up of compacted ice from which she can release ice javelins and darts from.

**CROW (Francisco Vaughn)-** Avian life forms are his domain and he is able to take on the traits of any one of them. He was once a member of X-Force, but was recruited by The Blue Marvel after preventing an assassination attempt on President Tyrone Malus.

**SPECIMEN 4 (Gary Moore)-** He was an experiment created by X-Force to help in tracking down soldiers who went AWOL, but the Continental Governors put the idea to a halt. Gary was about to be put down like some rabid dog when The Blue Marvel stepped in to save him. Gary has enhanced senses and shape-shifting abilities.

**MISCHANCE (H'Mek Duvari)-** H'Mek is a transfer from The Imperial Guard. He doesn't like being with The Argonauts but does it out of loyalty to Emperor Xulin Nermani. He is able to create probability bubbles, which result in improbable actions that can be seen as bad luck.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.R.M.O.R. #4**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 4**

Wiccan knocked on Director Braddock's door with only enough force to be heard by himself. He wiped away the remainder of the tears he had let loose only a few minutes before. Then building up a bit more courage, he knocked harder. When he got no answer, he turned to walk away. "Come in Wiccan. I had some music going so I didn't hear you."

Walking into the room, Billy saw the neatly piled stacks of paper on Braddock's desk. "With all that's going on, I'm shocked you can even find time to breath."

Brian sat back down behind his desk and began to shuffle through more papers. "I'm having to manage a meshed together army. Music is about the most calming thing I can find right now. So what can I do for you?"

"I heard abut what happened on Earth-521 and I want permission to go on a retrieval mission after this one is complete."

Stopping his work, Brian said, "That world has been declared off-limits to the M.D.A."

"Then let the mission be one off the radar. I have to get there."

"Why? What's there?'

"Someone I care about. I can't just let them rot."

Brian intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on them. "You know I can't risk you getting killed off world. If an investigation was done, we could face sanctions. I don't want another world taking over our operation here."

"I'm going to go whether you give me permission or not, but I felt the need to at least let you know."

Brian sat back in his seat and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knew love struck when he saw it and Wiccan was definitely that. Whoever was on Earth-521 was someone he cared a great deal about and Brian felt like a royal arse for not letting him go. But there were regulations and rules that had to be followed to ensure that this world's A.R.M.O.R. remained in compliance. A question nagged at the back of Director Braddock's mind though. What would he do if it was Meggan?

"I'll authorize this under the table, but you're not going to go alone. You tell Portal what's going on and convince him to come with you. I can't order him to go so if you can't convince him then I won't let you go."

"Are you serious? Portal is the most selfish, bull-headed man in this entire organization. Asking him to do anything for someone else is like asking The Necronima to come down from the sky and drop into my arms."

Brian laughed at Wiccan's passion. It was obvious that the two didn't like each other, but if he was going to allow an unauthorized action then he was going to get some benefit out of it. Portal and Wiccan putting aside their differences would be for the greater good. "You are an intelligent man Billy. I'm sure you'll find a way around this little dilemma. Was there anything else I could do for you?"

Wiccan tried not to lock his jaw and gave a half-smile. "Not at all. Thank you for letting me do this."

"No worries. Just don't make me regret it."

_**=AR=**_

Portal moved his black checker a space forward and said, "I hope you know that you're going down."

Gaia shook her head. "Not a chance hotshot. This isn't going to be like UNO."

"Thought you knew babe. I'm the king of board games!" Portal laughed. It felt good being able to get away from the stress of A.R.M.O.R. for just a little bit, especially when a big operation loomed over them. He didn't like the idea of Gaia being in danger, but she seemed to be okay with it. And there was no way he was going to make another objection to it because a nuclear Gaia was about as bad as a super powered alternate Stalin knocking on your door. (Portal could make the comparison from experience.)

Gaia laughed at her boyfriend's boast. "That's only because you can be as stiff as one most of the time."

"Hey! I can be fun. Just not around this A.R.M.O.R. crowd. They're all too hypocritical for me."

Moving a red checker forward, Gaia reached behind her and grabbed her can of Pepsi off the kitchen counter. "And was it really necessary to go off on Billy like that?"

"He had it coming. Trying to dictate tome how to tell my own story. He's exactly what I'm talking about. They makes these excuses for people who happen to be valuable or share some of their mutual interests, but want to burn everyone else by the stake."

Taking a sip of her soda, Gaia asked, "You don't think that you might be taking this a bit too personal?"

She was well aware of Portal's trust issues. Ever since he first discovered his powers people had been trying to use him and have manipulated him. He had to learn to fend for himself and be suspicious of anyone who claimed they were trying to help him. She thought it was a miracle that he had even found his way to A.R.M.O.R. It just spoke to the strength of Brian Braddock because he was able to convince the immovable skeptic that he was on the level. In that way, Gaia would forever owe him a debt of gratitude because Braddock keeping to his word opened up Portal to allowing himself to feel again.

"I don't like seeing people getting railroaded and that's exactly what's going on in the M.D.A. right now. We're helping this world not because it's the right thing to do but because it is useful to us. Does that feel right to you?"

Gaia knew where he was coming from an in a lot of ways share his sentiments, but she also knew that the M.D.A. had to be practical. There was no way they could help every member world whenever they had an internal problem. The resources of the M.D.A. would be stretched to nothing. Maybe in time when they had enough member worlds the resources would be there, but that just wasn't an option at the moment. Portal wasn't going to accept that for an answer though and that's why she loved him. His heart was bigger than he allowed people to think.

"I know what wouldn't feel right to me Charles. Letting an entire planet full of fugitives potentially escape back out into The Multiverse to make who knows what kind of destruction. And personally, I don't feel like tracking them all down again."

Portal folded his arms across his chest, looked into a corner and gave a slight huff. "I don't feel like it either." He hated it when Gaia managed to find a way to always be right.

Gaia spotted out of the corner of her eye, the ghostly figure of Wiccan moving through her door. "You know you could have knocked."

Wiccan solidified and said, "And if you knew it was me would you have answered?"

Portal smiled. "Yea so I could sock you in the mouth."

Wiccan could already feel his patience flying out the door, but he had to do this. "I am here because I need your help Portal. I have a friend on Earth-521 and I have no intention of leaving him there to rot. Brian has given me permission to track him down, but only if you agree to come with me."

Gaia responded for him. "Are you crazy? We have no idea what condition that world is in. What you're asking him is suicide!"

"What kind of friend is it?" Portal asked. He had his suspicions about Wiccan and had heard plenty of rumors. So now he intended to get confirmation from obvious desperation.

"Would you leave Gaia behind?"

She knew what Charles' answer was going to be right then and there. "Oh no you're not! You can't!"

Portal rested a hand on her shoulder. "We'll talk about it when we get back. We need to make it through this current assignment before we can start thinking about anything else."

"Don't coddle me Charles. I'm not some silly school girl."

He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. A cheek that was very red. "I'm serious. We have to go fight off an armada and I don't want you distracted thinking about something that might not even happen."

She cut her eyes with feminine fury at Wiccan. "If my boyfriend ends up with a scratch on him because of you, I'm going to turn your guts inside out."

The scary thing for Wiccan was that he knew she was completely capable of doing it. "Maybe he's right. We should just wait until the current mission has been resolved."

"See? We agree on something. That's a start isn't it?" Portal said with a boyish grin that Gaia couldn't help but to yield to.

"Ok ok. But soon as we get back we're talking about," Gaia said as she looked down at her watch. "We need to move to the Dimension Core. Only got a few minutes."

Cracking his knuckles, Wiccan said, "Well, I can get us there in a few seconds."

"No need," Gaia interrupted. "I figured out how to teleport a while back."

A rainbow light covered the three of them and they were gone with a loud popping noise that vibrated the room.

_**=AR=**_

The Dimensional Core was Earth-792's connection to The Mukuru and thus its connection to the many universes making up The Multidimensional Alliance. Every A.R.M.O.R. unit (or whatever their equivalent designation was) had been given a core based on the technology found on The Mukuru, which was thousands of years ahead of anything that could be found on Earth-792. It was why A.R.M.O.R.'s secret had to maintained. If any government found out the level of technology that they possessed they would want to pilfer it all in a New York minute. Braddock refused to let that happen.

The Core itself was an apparatus that connected to the mainframe of The Mukuru. It was surrounded by what appeared to be a sphere of thick red matter, which was really a combination of compressed spatial, temporal, and gravitational energies. The apparatus drew upon these energies to create the gateways that A.R.M.O.R. would travel through to access their destination. The whats, hows, and wheres of the machine were lost on Braddock, but he knew that it was sophisticated on a level that only the smartest men could comprehend.

Brian looked around at the five teams he had assembled and noticed that three were missing from Field Team One. "Where are Wiccan—

A flash of rainbow light came from the back of the room and Earth-792's Paranormal Expert stepped through. "We're here sir."

Director Braddock nodded and turned to the amethyst colored gateway that was just opening. Slinging a laser rifle across his back, he said, "We're going in people. This isn't going to be our normal operation. I want you all to be prepared for casualties…even amongst us."

He had brought to light the silent fear that they all shared about what was to come. Gaia gripped Portal's hand with all the love she could muster. She wanted nothing more than to go back to her room and keep playing checkers. Wiccan had no intention of dying because there was someone who needed him. Death would not claim him just yet. Motormouth saw that steely determination in Billy's face and couldn't help but to grin. He was ready for war and by the Queen so was she.

Brian saw the man and women before him praying that he was wrong and all of them would come home. "Let's move! I don't think Alise wants to wait for us much longer."

_**=AR=**_

**A.R.M.O.R. Moon Base**

**Earth-97701**

The Human Blizzard stood watch over The Dimensional Core controls while Alise Parker kept a firm eye on the gateway itself. He looked up to her with blank, white eyes and said, "We've got an incoming transport."

"Earth number?"

He looked down at the controls, "Just a second…looks like its Earth-792."

Alise sighed. "Finally. I was beginning to think I was going to have to take charge of this operation."

_**=AR=**_

**Presidential War Chambers**

**Southern Lunar City of Saint Orleans**

Three Hours Later

T'Chaka was not use to this privy room being so full of people. It was only meant to seat five and currently was occupying twenty. The Directors of his world's A.R.M.O.R., S.H.I.E.L.D., S.W.O.R.D. and X-Force were all present along with his three Fleet Admirals. The other twelve people were the Directors of A.R.M.O.R.'s from other worlds that were going to be helping him in the defense of his solar system. He knew that it was going to be a bit daunting having to deal with this many personalities, especially with all the information he had just heaped upon them.

"Are you sure sir that it was wise to let loose all those entities that we worked so hard to keep locked away?"

That was the voice of Fleet Admiral Banner. He was a decorated military veteran who had led many successful campaigns against the forces of The Magus. If there was anyone who was going to have a problem with some of his recent choices, T'Chaka knew Banner would be it. Banner absolutely believed in the power of Earth's present forces to push The Magus into defeat. T'Chaka wished he had such confidence.

"I did what was needed to preserve our solar system Admiral. The forces that The Magus has leveled at us require such action."

Director Braddock rubbed his chin for a moment and kindly interjected. "No they don't."

A mixture of audible gasps and hard stares came the direction of Brian. T'Chaka narrowed his eyes and said, "Care to explain what you mean Field Commander?"

"I have read over the detailed analysis of The Magus' forces until I have it memorized. It is a powerful force, but nowhere requiring the unleashing of Heralds, Horsemen, and Sentinels. So that means only one thing. There's more to this attack than you're telling us."

T'Chaka loosened his tie and said, "Clever man. I had hoped to keep this information strictly amongst my people."

Alise didn't care for more secrets. Was that all government was? "What's going on Mr. President?"

"There are traitors in our government loyal to The Magus so I had to make sure that I could figure out who was loyal. I am confident everyone in this room is trustworthy. The Magus strikes at us with one hand we can see, but he moves with another that he hoped we could not."

Fleet Admiral Banner's white hair seemed a little thinner. "A sneak attack?"

"Precisely," T'Chaka said as he reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of Brandy. He started to pour himself a shot before he continued. "The Magus has created a hypergate that will open right in the middle of Los Angeles. He'll be sending forces through there to start wreaking havoc."

Director Jameson of Earth-2075 didn't quite get it. "But who else could he be sending in? I thought your report said all of his forces were being compounded in this frontal assault."

"They are. All the forces we know of, but it would appear The Magus has resurrected things he would have rather kept buried too."

Alise put a hand to her mouth and could barely utter, "Oh no."

Fleet Admiral Yashida sunk in her seat. "The White Gods."

T'Chaka threw back his shot. "Indeed. The White Gods of The Quists are coming to bring their brand of divinity to Earth."

**NEXT ISSUE: The chess pieces are being moved into place and the game is about to begin. And just where is Noh-Varr and why does it concern Earth-792?**

Author's Notes

**So this issue was a fun one to write. I really liked digging into Wiccan a bit more and Braddock is developing naturally for me. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm writing him close to his past appearances, but I'll let my readers tell me if I need to adjust. As you can see, I'm throwing a lot of elements into the mix for this first arc, but most of them will be touched on in passing or be part of my supplemental materials. I want the focus to remain on our A.R.M.O.R. guys. But anyway, stick around because the fun is about to get started.**

**SUPPLEMENTAL INFO**

**A.R.M.O.R. of Earth-97701**

**Director Alise Parker-** She became the leader of this organization after the assassination of the last Director. It was a contested appointment as she was seen having been handed the job because of her close friendship with The President. She is a bright, bull-headed, if not naïve Director.

**The Human Blizzard-** Jonas Butterfield was a lead scientist at S.H.I.E.L.D. when he was attempting to create an organism that could survive in absolute zero. It was a task everyone considered him crazy for trying and after a freak accident he found himself gifted with a liquid water body that allowed him to survive in absolute zero. He had accomplished what he set out to do, but he could no longer have a normal life because of it.

**Phobia-** A former Colonel in X-Force that was court-martialed after she ordered Shi'ar civilians be fired on in an attempt to a save a fellow officer. She was locked up in X-Force's Fort Creed on Ganymede when Alise pulled some strings to get her placed in A.R.M.O.R. The two's parents had been friends and she felt that she couldn't let the woman rot. Phobia is less than grateful.

**Integer-** An enigma that no one can seem to wrap their head around. Integer has been around since the 20th century, but it's never really clear what his agenda is or what his plans are because of his strange nature. The only people who have ever really understood Integer have been robots and even they find him to be confusing. He already on A.R.M.O.R. when Alise arrived and she made no qualms about him staying.

**Maxine Shaw-** She's a member of A.R.M.O.R. at the express request of the five Governors. Arrogant, rude and pretentious just about sum up the woman and most of her family. As heiress to the trillion-dollar Shaw Inc. Empire she thinks of her assignment in A.R.M.O.R. as something to pass the time until she is fabulously rich.

**Terra 5-** The fifth in a series of earth controlling androids created by Joe Pym right before he died. The androids were given tot the government as a gift of atonement. Something that the Pym family has been trying to achieve ever since the fatal mistake made by their ancestor which set loose The Magus on the galaxy.


	5. Chapter 5

**A.R.M.O.R. #5**

Planetary Strike Pt. 5

Mindbender hated having to wait around for things to get started. The calm before the storm drove him crazy so he paced around the holding deck all the M.D.A. units had been sent to. He puffed like mad on his cigarette before Dark Angel tapped him on his shoulder. "Luv, I think you might want to calm down. The war has not started yet."

Palin stopped his pacing and put out the cigarette with his boot. "Sorry. Just hate having to wait. My Mum and Da told me abut this sort of stuff all the time. The heroes going off to war, but I never really have experienced it myself. My old A.R.M.O.R. team wasn't involved in the Earth-12488 fight."

Shevaun remembered that bit of an adventure fondly. "That was a tight spot. Braddock had just come on as Director and the whole affair was a bunch of rolled up manure. Portal nearly got his head knocked off by Stalin of all people. We made it through in one piece though and Brian got himself a little respect."

"Enough respect to be made Field Commander for this op," Mindbender said as he tried to prevent himself from smoking another cigarette. He had promised his Mum that he wouldn't do the smoking thing anymore and he was having some success. The current situation wasn't helping his efforts any though.

Shevaun saw that Palin was disturbed by the events swirling around them, but she wasn't sure what she could do for him because she couldn't relate. This coming battle had her excited in all the right ways. Something in her yearned for the risk and adventure that the universes had to offer her. Life on Earth had started to become boring for her until she was approached to join A.R.M.O.R. and then all sort of new possibilities opened up. With A.R.M.O.R. there was always going to be a problem that needed to be solved.

She put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You seem like you got a lot of stones about yourself when you want to Mindbender. Just let this whole rubbish play out how it will and I think you'll see that you fit in just fine. Weren't you trained by Xavier of all people? If there was ever a man who could put a beating on a bloke—

"Ok I get it," Palin said as he held up his hands in defeat. Shevaun had a good point. He had been an X-Man before all of this and they fought their fair share of big battles. Nothing like this, but they would have been up to the task. "I guess it was stupid of me to start worrying about this fight."

Motormouth zipped in front of the two moving like a salt and pepper blur and came to a screeching halt. As fast as she was running, someone would have thought she had super speed. What she did have was a boyish grin on her face and a little line of sweat trickling down her forehead. "Have you guys been around this base? It's amazing. It's like they turned the whole Moon into a new Earth."

"I sometimes forget how primitive some of the other Earths could be," The Human Blizzard said as he walked to the three A.R.M.O.R. agents. He looked like a walking bleu lava lamp as different shades of blue swirled across his liquid body. A mouth could barely be made out and his eyes looked like they could display no emotion. "We have been working on terraforming many of the celestial bodies in the solar system."

Motormouth made it no secret how she felt about The Human Blizzard's sentiments, but Harley never had a problem telling people how she felt. It was how she got her name in the first place. London's East Side had been littered with her trash talking. "Call us primitive one more you big, dumb lamp and I'll send you right into orbit."

"Harley! Really, is all that necessary?" Dark Angel said as she stepped in front of the woman and held out a hand to The Human Blizzard. She hoped her quick move would be enough to make amends and keep things civil. Whatever their attitude was towards each other they were going to have to depend on one another very soon. "Our friend here is a bit sensitive. My name is Shevaun."

Jonas stared down at the hand like it was filthy. Motormouth felt her patience about t break, but she knew Shevaun well enough to not step in. She wasn't the kind of woman to let someone insult her, but with this man it was hard to tell. He looked so blank that it could easily have not been an insult. "I know who you are Dark Angel. Forgive me if I don't take your hand, but I might freeze and break it off."

Shevaun wasn't' sure whether to take it as a threat, joke, or something completely serious. Motormouth didn't giver her time to make that evaluation. "Hey bloke! You must be really trying to start something. I'm gonna bop you so hard that all of your blue little sparkles are going to feel it. Got me?"

The Human Blizzard didn't seem annoyed by the threat at all. "No offense was intended. It is simply a condition of who I am. Me touching organics usually turns bad results."

Not buying it, Harley said, "So where you know Shevaun from? Your world had a version of her?"

"A particularly deadly one," The Human Blizzard said as he turned to walk away from the group. He had no desire to go into details. "I look forward to working with all of you. Hopefully, we can preserve my world."

There was a bit of curiosity on Shevaun's part as she watched him walk away. She wanted to know more about what she was like on this world. It was obvious that whoever she was, she made The Human Blizzard uncomfortable. What could she have done/ Her powers came from a slice of reality itself so she could easily have been a number of things across a number of realities.

"That could have gone badly," Mindbender said as he drove his hands into his pockets and started rocking back and forth on his heels. The urge to get a cigarette was overwhelming, but he had to push through the craving. "I know what got him spooked."

"He had every reason to feel that way. He was about to get his bum knocked around from the Moon to London, if the bleeding place is even still around," Motormouth said completely confident in her ability to have put The Human Blizzard in his place. She always felt half the battle with any situation was confidence. If you believed you could pull it off then nine times of then you could.

Mindbender laughed. Motormouth was red in the face and looked like she could keep going for another hour. "Despite your enthusiasm Harley, that's not what sent him off. The Dark Angel of this world was one of The Magus' most deadly soldiers. There's a reason there's no Pluto in this dimension's solar system."

Shevaun pointed a finger at herself. "Are you saying I destroyed Pluto?"

"Imploded the baby right on up."

Harley felt like it was hardly the time to say how cool she thought that was. "So you reading minds without permission now Palin? Sounds just like something your namesake might endorse."

He rolled his eyes at yet another Sarah Palin dig from his teammates. "The thoughts were rolling off of him the minute he saw Shevaun. He was broadcasting too loud for me to ignore. My mind is too broad to simply block everything out."

"And I thought you were Xavier trained? Feh," Motormouth said.

"I was. Trust me, without his training I'd see every thought of every single person I encounter. The fact I am blocking out most thoughts most of the time is the best someone like me can hope for."

Shevaun had no idea that Mindbender's powers were that strong, but she didn't have any idea that hers were either.

_**=AR=**_

**Presidential War Chambers**

"So now that we know everything that we are up against, what are we going to do about it?" Josiah Rage asked to everyone in the room, but specifically the President. He had served under four different Presidents and he honestly felt that T'Chaka was the least qualified of them. But he respected the young man for trying to do the right thing and for being willing to do the things that none of his predecessors were.

President Stark wished now that the strength of his ancestors could flow through him, but it was going to take more than his strength alone to save his world. It would take the combined resolve of everyone in this room and then some to finally beat back The Magus. "We're going to figure out how to divide our forces and construct a plan of attack. But let me make this clear. This is the end game people. After this battle, I want this war to be over with once and for all."

Brian saw that the young man had a lot on his mind and he felt a great swell of sympathy for him. Even though Brian was the Filed Commander for A.R.M.O.R. here he knew that his Earth was in no danger. Fighting this battle would not determine whether he had a home to go to or whether Meggan and him would have a place to raise children. The stakes were so much higher for Stark, but he seemed to be handling it well. He was a credit to Iron Man and Black Panther. Brian could only hope he had such a worthy descendant out there in the Multiverse somewhere.

"I am more than willing to help your world end this war. It sin the best interests of The Multidimensional Alliance that your world is stable and at peace. So have you thought about how you want to approach this?"

T'Chaka stroked his goatee and appeared lost in thought for a moment. He suddenly looked much older than thirty-eight. "I am going to leave the defense of Earth to Josiah and Fire Mage. You two will have The Prime Sentinels and Deathloks at your disposal. Along with whatever M.D.A. soldiers that Director Braddock decides to give you."

Josiah didn't seem to take the order one way or another. With his hulking frame, square jaw, an deep set brown eyes he didn't seem to give off more than intimidation. His ebony skin was littered with scars he had earned form his time in the service of Earth. That was another thing you could take away from Josiah at a first glance. He was dedicated to his work. "We'll make sure The White Gods don't take a single inch of Los Angeles."

Fire Mage, the ferocious leader of X-Force, raised her rough, battle-tested hand and said, "If I can make a suggestion. Omega Sentinel should be at the front along with The Deathloks. I would much prefer to have The Horsemen remain behind on Earth. They may not be as numerous as the cyborgs, but they all are deadly powerful."

President Stark took a moment to consider it. "Any problem with that Josiah?"

"None. I would prefer the front have strength in numbers."

"Then it's done. Now we need to figure out how we're going to attack The Magus' leadership structure. If we can take out the major players then The Magus will be exposed for a direct attack."

"It should be The Argonauts who attack The Magus directly," Alise said confident in The Blue Marvel's ability to put an end to this war of nearly two centuries. He was Earth's greatest hero and their most respected. The only one who even came close was Technocrat.

T'Chaka didn't acknowledge the statement to the chagrin of his old friend. "Director Braddock, how many people do you have who can physically handle the rigors of space?"

Pulling out his Starkpad from his pocket, Brian pecked in a few search parameters and said, "I have exactly 43 people who fall into what you're probably looking for. Including The Human Blizzard of this world's A.R.M.O.R."

The President nodded and looked to Alise. "Good. They'll be the ones to attack The Magus when that opportunity opens. I want him to be off his game and facing new elements may just do that. Besides, I have other plans for The Argonauts. The Blue Marvel will be dealing with Skaar."

Alise's rage caused her hand to start trembling. Skaar? The Blue Marvel deserved better than that. He had been fighting the war since its very beginning. There was no one else who could claim any right to having a go with The Magus. His destruction belonged to The Blue Marvel and now T'Chaka was going to deny him that. She knew there was little point in arguing the decision. Everyone was too focused on planning to think about what was fair.

Brian felt the unhappiness that Alise had with Stark's decision. He couldn't figure out the reason, but he figured it was most likely because she was embarrassed. No one liked for their ideas to be publicly shut down and especially in such an abrupt manner. Alise probably was going to give the President an earful later. He really hoped that she wouldn't because President Stark needed to be fully focused on what was to come and not arguing with old friends. Friends who remembered what you were like before you attained power always knew how to throw you off your game. He just hoped Alise was as mature as he thought she was.

_**=AR=**_

**Earth-181203**

Noh-Varr crumbled at the feet of the man how had held him prisoner for months now. He had no idea why eh was still even being kept alive, but he was determined to make every last person involved with it pay. They were fools to keep him alive because once he got loose, there was going to be plenty of payback to go around.

A pink telekinetic noose wrapped around The Kree's neck and lifted him off the ground to bring him face to face with High Prelate Grey. She was beauty, death, and lust all rolled into one. "You will look my master in the eye when he speaks to you. Is that clear alien?"

He spat blood on the woman's cleavage. "Gloat now. You're gonna be begging me for mercy later."

_**You are quite the warrior Noh-Varr. That is why I want to make you a Prelate to lead my armies to a new world.**_

The Kree looked up at his captor for a moment and started laughing. "You're joking right?"

Onslaught leaned forward from his throne. _**I do not joke.**_

**NEXT ISSUE: Josiah Rage and Fire Mage prepare to prep their troops while the traitor in T'Chaka's government is revealed. And what consequences will this traitor have for Amiri Nur? **

**SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL**

**The Heralds**

Firelord

Silver Surfer

Nova

Iceman

Dazzler

Venom

Morg

**The Horsemen**

Exodus (Death)

Moonstar (War)

Rogue (Famine)

Emplate (Pestilence)

Madrox (Genocide)


	6. Chapter 6

**A.R.M.O.R. #6**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 6**

Malus Interspatial Airport Lunar City of Saint Orleans

Josiah Rage looked out over the crowd assembled in front of him composed of his S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, members of X-Force, and those individuals from A.R.M.O.R. given to him by Director Braddock. The Horsemen and Prime Sentinels were already being positioned around Los Angeles by his Assistant Directors along with a few select A.R.M.O.R. agents. He would have preferred to have The Deathloks, but he knew how Fire Mage was. She could be impossible to work with if you didn't give her a few concessions every now and then. He was waiting on her to address the soldiers, but he could see impatience beginning to set in amongst them. They were ready to hear what their leadership had to say.

Everyone knew that The Magus was coming and that this battle was going to be big, but no one knew any real details except for those in a need-to-know position. But the item fro that had passed and every citizen of this solar system needed to know about the destruction that was headed their way. They needed to be able to steel themselves for what was to come because The Magus would show no mercy to anyone. He had been waging war for nearly two hundred years and he wasn't about to back down when he could taste victory. The Shi'ar and The Uncreated had been Earth's greatest allies and with them now nearly gone; his confidence had never been higher.

Josiah had dreamed about this kind of battle ever since he was a kid waging fake wars against the neighbors in the wheat fields of Venus. The great enemy had been the windmill converting the high winds of the planet into electricity and his army was the legion of ants that marched around. He missed the order of the ants. They were the creation of the scientist Hector Lang and were the marvel of the terraforming movement. Genetically engineered to synthesize a number of harmful elements into oxygen, they were the smallest history changers ever known.

That was what Josiah hoped they could all do in the coming hours and days. History was going to change at their hand and not The Magus'. To allow him to win was to spell the death of not only every human, but the deaths of the many races under Earth's protection. Josiah wasn't going to let that happen. The windmill wasn't going to win today.

"Oh what a gentleman waiting for me."

Turning around from his overhead view f the holding deck, Josiah glared at Fire mage like only a person who knew you intimately could. "You're late."

Fire Mage had been the commander of X-Force for nearly twenty years and was largely responsible for shaping what was once a loose confederate force into a cast iron, bullet-spitting machine of precision and death. She took crap from no one, always had a Cuban in her mouth, and had a voice deeper than any baritone. The woman had gone as far as to get a giant red X tattooed on her forehead to prove to a doubtful soldier her dedication. She was the kind of person you always wanted at your back and never staring you down.

"I was arguing with this Director Braddock. He's taking all of my Class Fives with him into space. T'Chaka is giving this guy far too much leeway. I think head is stuck in the clouds being surrounded by all these characters from the First Age," Fire Mage said as she sat down the rifle that was slung across her back and pulled out the handguns that were sitting in holsters on her side. She didn't' want to address the troops fully armed. Her reputation was already scary enough and this was supposed to be uplifting.

Josiah smiled to himself (because no one ever caught him doing that in public) as Fire Mage laid down her weapons. "Now if only we could get some pretty locks to replace that buzzcut and you might actually be cute."

"Keep talking. I still have a knife in my back pocket, " she said as she walked by Josiah and out onto the balcony.

"You really want to do that dance again? It didn't go so pretty for you the last time."

"Bite me."

Josiah laughed this time and couldn't help but to do it openly. The entire crowd went completely quiet. Even the A.R.M.O.R. agents though they didn't know why. They were just following the crowd.

Fire Mage looked at him and shook her head. "You pick a fine time to be a wimp."

**=AR=**

**The Lensherr Mansion**

**Switzerland**

Governor Lorien Lensherr had seen the power and influence of the European nations grow smaller and smaller with every year. The destruction that had been wreaked upon the continent by Apocalypse and Zatharos had simply left too big a scar and by the time it had healed, the rest of the world was far ahead of them. Europe had the world's most poverty, crime, infant mortality etc. If there was a bad statistic then it was likely that Europe was at the lead. How what was once the depository for the world's power had fallen so low dumbfounded Lorien.

It angered him even more that he had to be Continental Governor during such a time. That was why he ate alone every night because it was the only time he got to properly stew in that anger. He made no sound and ate without light, but he had all the fury of a raging lunatic having to be restrained by a group of men. His father had promised him that Europe would be a better place by the time he grew up. Far as he could see, that was a lie.

And here he was. Destiny had spat on him by making a leader in such a time. He would have given anything to be like the European nobility of old who indulged in painting, parties and prestigious education. What original sin had he committed against the universe to make him worthy of such a disgusting fate? None of the others could understand because they were not rotting in a cesspool. Amiri was leading Africa into a new Renaissance while Sable and Kiriko had the tools necessary to build their holdings. Tucker stubbornly stuck to old traditions, but so did the people under him so he was loved.

Lorien was none of these things. His people looked him upon with disdain and he had none of the resources necessary to improve his or their standing in the world. Desperation had forced him to turn to outside sources.

As he finished eating a sweet, seductive voice called out to him. It was like the light of the old, untainted moon had washed into his room. "Lorien my love. Where are you?"

"In here. I was just finishing eating," Lorien said as he pushed back his purple plush chair and tied his white hair back into a ponytail. "I had expected you to arrive earlier."

An apparition of Selene moved into the room. "Unexpected matters came up. We are making the final moves to prepare for our invasion."

Lorien nodded. This was not the course of action he would have wished to take, but it was the best one available to him. The magus had promised to make him a King, the Warlord of Earth. Lorien would be The Magus' caretaker while he went off to conquer other worlds and races. In Lensherr's mind, he figured that would take so much of the conqueror's time that he would be able to rule Earth without much interference. Then he could fix whatever damage The Magus would cause and place the name of his family on a pedestal the likes of which it had never before seen. There would be monuments to the glory of the family Lensherr. All he had to do was cooperate.

"I do believe that my people know about your ambush in Los Angeles. My sources there tell me they've seen S.H.I.E.L.D. moving Prime Sentinels into position throughout the city. Rumors of The Four Horsemen being there have also circulated."

Selene put a hand to her chest and gave a haughty laugh. "We knew they would discover this assault. That is why we told you Los Angeles and not our true location."

Lorien couldn't keep the red hue from seeping into his pale face. His fists tightened with embarrassment. "You used me as a tool!"

"Of course. We knew that some information we gave you would leak. The Magus just hoped the right information would make its way back to Stark. It seems to have worked," Selene said as she floated along the ground and patted an immaterial hand against Lorien's face. "My love, don't be so coarse about it. You will soon rule this world."

"So where are you planning to make the attack?"

Selene smiled. "I think you will enjoy this part. The Magus knows of your disdain for the line of Nur, so as a gift for loyal service he has decided to send The White Gods right into the heart of Cairo, gem of Africa."

Lorien imagined Amiri's face as he watched the city he loved burn. There was something strangely satisfying in that thought. The Lensherrs would suffer their last insult at the hands of the Nurs. Destiny was finally starting to be on his side.

_**=AR=**_

**The Landing Deck of The Pantheon**

**Outside Mars Orbit**

Portal looked out the window and stared down at the lines of metal that went up, down, back, and forth across the red planet. "Crazy huh? Our universe's Mars is untouched and this one is full of life."

Gaia wasn't sure what Charles found so awe-inspiring about what was essentially one giant prison. She could only imagine the crazy people that were locked up down there. She had heard about the Pirate Crew of Earth-1509 and how many people they had massacred in their career. It gave her goosebumps if nothing else. "It's probably a good thing ours is that way."

Charles looked at his girlfriend as she approached the window. She looked like she was watching a horror movie and not something that was a marvel of architecture and science. True enough, they were looking at a massive planet-wide prison system, but imagine if their world could do something similar? The Vault and other prisons like it would be rendered obsolete. Earth wouldn't need to be a storage house of volatile super powered elements.

She was still unable to see how Charles was able to have that childlike wonder in his eyes considering who was locked up down there. It made the reality of winning this battle all the more poignant. If they lost then every criminal locked up down there had an opportunity at freedom. "You know who they're trying to put in there next don't you? They're supposed to be tracking down that Dawn girl from Earth-27538. She ripped Rome a new one and killed all of the Squadron Maximum."

A new voice stepped into their conversation. It was Kurt Marko AKA The Swordsman of Earth-27538. The woman that they were discussing was from his world and his best friend had been on The Squadron Maximum. "Don't forget that she also stole my world's Soul Gem and Hescamar of Asgard. She is a dangerous bitch who deserves to rot in the most hellish hole that prison has. I would have preferred to be excused from this mission to capture her immediately. The thought of her roaming about in the Multiverse grinds my teeth, but the choice was out of my hands."

Portal snickered. "Well, there's a bit of a logic flaw there buddy. If we didn't help these guys you wouldn't have a prison to throw your Dawn in."

The Swordsman didn't seem to appreciate the comment, but his facemask didn't reveal much in the way of emotion. "I think this little expedition would have gotten along well enough without my A.R.M.O.R.'s involvement."

The conversation came to a grinding halt when Captain Britain entered the room flanked by an angry Alise Parker and stoic Vulcan, commander of this world's S.W.O.R.D. and thus commander of the Fleet Admirals. Brian walked right over to where Gaia, Portal, and the Swordsman were. He placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder and said, "I know you rather be elsewhere my friend so I appreciate you being here."

Kurt tipped his faceplate slightly as a sign of respect to the Field Commander. While he had no desire to be here, he was happy that at least Brian of Earth-792 was in charge. The man seemed to have his head on straight and wasn't stuck on a power trip. Common sense seemed to guide his hand on and off the field. "Just tell me the plan and I'll execute it to the best of my ability."

_**=AR=**_

**Earth-9154**

**Genosha**

Polaris walked slowly and methodically around the table in her mother's private office as she stared won the woman seeking her country's help. "You say you're on the run. Why should Genosha protect you?"

The woman ran a finger through her long red hair and said, "Zola promised me the protection of The Cabal and your mother is a part of that is she not?"

"Much to my regret yes," Polaris replied as her eyes made their way to the green gem seemingly implanted in the woman's chest. "But my mother is a member of The Cabal. She is a not a slave to them."

Standing up fro her chair, the woman clutched at a gold purse and cast cold blue eyes on Polaris. "Then perhaps it would be best if I left."

"I didn't say that. I simply want to know your reasons. Who are you on the run from? Why come here? If Zola offered you protection, could you have not gone to Skymaria?"

with her stolen gem, Dawn was able to peer into the soul of Polaris. She was not as far gone as her mother, Magneto, and she was miles away from the stench that was Arnim Zola. But there was still that tinge of darkness in her and Dawn had a feeling that it would grow to consume her in time. For now, the woman was being genuine in her questions.

"You may want to take a seat. The story I have to tell you is quite the long one. And it starts with a little something called The M'Kraan Crystal."

Polaris' interest was piqued. She had never heard of such an artifact. "I prefer to stand. Burn more calories that way."

Dawn smiled. "Suit yourself."

That was when the voice she had been hearing since arriving on this world burned into her mind.

_**I see you Dawn. And I am coming for you.**_

**NEXT ISSUE: Who holds a disturbing concern for Wiccan? And just what are The Horsemen planning?**

**SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL**

**FORCE WORKS of Earth-97701**

**Technocrat** (Taki Matsuya)

Technoformer and inventive genuis

**Double Jack** (Omaru Imahara)

Ability to "hack" into multiple minds to take over their mind and body

**Shovel and Dirt** (Dirk Graves)

Mentally create dimensional "sinkholes" that send people into Darkforce dimension

**Amazon** (Beverly Miggler)

Super strength and senses coupled with amazing fighting ability

**Caterpillar** (Ubu Ngoma)

Wraps himself in metallic cocoon and erupts in different monstrous forms

**Valkyrie** (Brunnhilde)

Superhuman strength and centuries of combat experience

Lieutenants of The Magus

Ganymede

Persephone

Hipployta

Red Tarantula

White Lion

Icarus

Skullbones


	7. Chapter 7

**A.R.M.O.R. #7**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 7**

Wiccan stood his ground in the face of scrutiny. "I think investigating alien magic is a perfectly feasible proposition and you shouldn't so lightly cast it to the wind."

The comment was directed at Lady Ororo of Earth-9940. She was a mage of great power on her world and Wiccan had a healthy respect for her. But on this matter they were in disagreement. It was a disagreement both of them needed to cure the dullness of being stuck in _The Pantheon_. "Alien magic could at its very core being dangerous to other life forms to practice. Look how dangerous Earth based magicks are for humans. I can only imagine what an Axi-Tun or Kree based magic could do to us."

"The greatest discoveries come through taking great risks. Besides, the higher the risk the higher the reward," Wiccan said.

Lady Ororo could not bring herself to agree with such a sentiment. "And are you prepared to handle those risk? Imagine what a Kree version of Mephisto may look like? Could you handle the darker side of such foreign magic?"

Billy was more than sure that he could not only handle it, but also master it. He was determined to learn and manipulate all the magic that was out there in the wide Multiverse and even beyond. It was his life's work and he could hardly believe that lady Ororo was being so short-sighed about it. The myriad rituals of the myriads peoples of the Multiverse should be seen as a grand opportunity of exploration and not something to be a Puritan prude about.

"Every adventure carries its dark side Lady Ororo," Wiccan said and quickly changed the subject. "I'm sure that at least one of us will be thrust at this world's Selene. I hear she has consumed entire demonic realms into her person to increase her magical prowess."

Ororo was shocked, but not with Selene's deed. She was shocked that Billy sounded almost excited with what Selene had done and not revolted. "Such a thing is beyond horrifying. To corrupt oneself to such a degree is unimaginable."

"But the mechanics of it have my curiosity piqued. I would love to have seen the steps she took to make it all happen."

Ororo put her hands on her hips and stared intently at Wiccan. "Be carefully Billy that your thirst for knowledge does not take you down a path you cannot walk back from."

Before Billy could respond, Captain Britain had walked onto the deck with Vulcan and Alise Parker. He had moved close to Gaia and Portal so Wiccan figured it was only natural he get his front row seats too. "We'll catch up some more later Ororo. I want to hear what my Director has to say."

Ororo watched Wiccan leave with worry etched into her ebony features. She sensed a great danger in Wiccan and she hoped those close to him could recognize it before he went too far.

_**=AR=**_

**Los Angeles**

**Domino District (Formerly Compton)**

Exodus floated above the recently renovated housing district with his fellow Horsemen at his side. He was telekinetically holding all of them in the air except for Rogue. "Soon we shall face our enemies. And they will be found weak."

"I do not know why we aide them Death. They are the ones who imprisoned us," War said. Moonstar (as she was once called) would have much preferred to cleave every soldier of Earth in half. Vengeance would be hers for Apocalypse and herself.

Death understood War's complaint, but there was a great plan at play. "The Magus was no friend of Apocalypse. We will show him lacking and then deal with our captors. I have heard they have released The Heralds as well. I will have my day with The Iceman."

A smile like a scythe crept up on Madrox's face. Of all The Horsemen, Genocide was the most sadistic. He had been created by Holocaust as a gift for his father. His mutation had been twisted so that every dupe he created was some dark reflection of himself. "You seek a rematch?"

"It is mines to seek. We will crush all who stand in our way and return glory to the name of Apocalypse. Do you object to this Genocide?" Death asked. Personal gain was not a trait that Apocalypse had cultivated in his Horsemen, but they were not complete robots.

Emplate spoke through razor teeth, his breathing apparatus having been removed long ago. "We are Horsemen, Death. You do not need to question our loyalty. Genocide only wants to make sure our goals remain clear."

Rogue laughed, her southern charm having long been replaced by a haggard voice and stone gray skin. "Pestilence, is the goal not clear? We kill The White Gods and we kill The Heralds and anyone else who stands in our way. Glory to Apocalpyse!"

War looked out into the Los Angeles skyline and imagined the battle that was to come. The Prime Sentinels would be adequate allies. "I concur with Famine. We will do what must be done and slash down any who stand in our way."

Far below The Horsemen, Motormouth looked up at the congregation and said, "Those buggers give me the creeps. No telling what they're talking about."

"Oh it's quite clear what they're talking about," Mindbender laughed as he wiped off his red and green sunglasses. "How to stab us right in the back."

"And these are the people we're supposed to be working with and we're surrounded by bloody Sentinels on top of it. What's next? They going to ask The Red Skull to join in on the fun?"

Mindbender could watch Motormouth's temper tantrums all day. "The Red Skull is plenty dead by now. And Sentinels aren't all bad. My world managed to convert them into peacekeepers."

"Yea well your world had Sarah bloody Palin as President so that shows just about how soddin much faith I have in your home."

Mindbender winced as he picked up a Horsemen's thought. "They just talked about sitting President Stark on a spike."

Rolling her eyes, Motormouth said, "Yea great bloody crowd."

_**=AR=**_

**Cairo, Egypt**

**Nur Castle**

The luxuries of the Nur family residence were many. Apocalypse's grandson, Imani Nur, had built it after the devastation caused to the city by The Shadow Queen. He built up the grand castle in the center of the city and it was the crown jewel of the new Cairo. The castle was three hundred stories high and each floor was large enough to easily hold five hundred occupants. Every inch of the building floor was tiled with blue and gray marble while deep royal blue curtains hung from every window.

A horde of butlers and maids kept the castle spotless as it was the seat of the Continental Governorship and was host to a great many galas. But outside of those grand affairs, the castle itself remained relatively empty. Amiri Nur had not had any children and had himself been an only child. A few of his extended family members resided in the castle, but Amiri rarely ran into them due to the structure's size. It was probably just as well, since Amiri cared nothing for his living family members. They were lazy and lacked conviction.

Amiri had much more reverence for his family of old. They had made the name of Nur a proud one and fought for the idea that the strong should lead the weak. It was the only idea that made sense in an insane world. Amiri believed in that idea with every drop of blood in his veins. He believed in that idea so much that he had lost the love of his life over it. Probably for the best because Nurs were not meant for love. Their purpose was a much greater one, but the loss still tugged at his heart sometimes.

Like today.

When those feeling struck him, he retreated to the roof of his great castle. It put him away from everything while still keeping him in touch with everything. Four great crystal spires jutted from the roof of the castle and for some reason Amiri found them to be soothing. They had been gifts from Crystal of the Inhumans as a sign of peace. As a Nur, he found peace distasteful, but on these days he could stomach the idea. It was a weakness and he wished he could purge it all from him like the great Apocalypse, but he just wasn't capable.

Alise Parker had stolen his heart and yet to return it.

"What a fool I am," Amiri said to his ancestors as he walked to the railing that surrounded the roof. He looked down at the great city of Cairo below him and was glad that the war would not be waged in it. That did not stop him from wishing he could have joined the battle that was about to take place, but Africa needed its leader in one piece. The defense of the continent needed to be managed just in case Stark's plan of attack failed and The Magus reached Earth. He hoped Alise would take care of herself and not rush into anything foolish as she usually had a tendency to do.

That was when an unnatural green lightning tore through the sky and thick, purple clouds began to roll in. Amiri looked up and a grimace crossed an already harsh face. More of the unnatural lightning cracked through the sky and he could begin to hear the frightened screams of his people below. The air smelt like rotten eggs more and more with each lightning strike to the point where it was nearly overwhelming, but not for a Nur. They were a pedigree of strength and warrior endurance.

Amiri threw back his billowing, white cloak to reveal a torso littered with red and black tattoos. Jagged red stripes ran down the full length of his arms while a black crescent moon was tattooed across his back. Right above his collarbone was a tattoo of a black lion fighting a red dragon. He felt that today would be his day to be the warrior and the sensation tingled every muscle in his body. "It seems I may have been mistaken. Perhaps Cairo will see war."

A deep, dark laugh rumbled from within the clouds and realization began to set in for the Continental Governor. His foes were far more powerful than he thought and they were appearing where they weren't supposed to be. "The White Gods."

Amiri watched as four, fast falling figures fell from the clouds and zoomed towards the Earth. The people below were already screaming and scattering from the black silhouettes. He knew that their simple arrival would cause destruction so it would only be a matter of time before members of his elite guard, The Clan Akabba, arrived. For now he would have to handle them. "Apocalypse, watch over me and make me strong."

Walking backwards to get a running start, Amiri leaped over the rails and went into freefall. He tucked his arms to his sides and let the wind rush past him. The White Gods may have though they found easy prey in their sneak attack, but not today. He would never allow Africa to be the victim again.

_**=AR=**_

**The Pantheon**

"We're going to be looking at what's left of the Kree fleet and The Magus' entire fleet dead in the eyes," Captain Britain said to all the A.R.M.O.R. soldiers standing around him in one large, disfigured circle. "I won't lie and pretend that it's going to be easy because it's not. This is going to be a firefight that we may win by the skin of our teeth. But we can win. That goal is not yet lost in the fog of war."

Brian feared that his words were inadequate. "Our attack and defense is a multi-layered one. The Earth and other crucial points throughout the solar system must be defended while we deliver a hard, powerful strike directly into the heart of The Magus' forces. I don't have time to verbally tell each of you what your part in this battle is going to be so you will be receiving telepathic orders from a S.W.O.R.D. agent letting you know your part in this coming battle."

He looked out into the crowd of soldiers and saw the raised hand of Cannonball from Earth-9940. Brian smiled and said, "I know you're immune to telepathy Sam. I'll come to you directly. Everyone else be ready to move into position soon as you get your orders."

The crowd around Brian dispersed and his shoulder was immeadiately gripped by Vulcan before he could go to Cannonball. "One of my men will tell him what he needs to know. We have a problem on our hands."

Brian nodded. "How big are we talking here?"

_**=AR=**_

**10 Minutes Later**

**_The Pantheon_- Communications Room**

They watched from the other side of the communications screen as President Stark buried his face in his hands and spoke right through them. "You can't be serious Vulcan."

"Unfortunately sir I am," Vulcan said with Captain Britain, Alise Parker, and Fleet Admiral Banner standing behind him. The room was small and tight, but that was necessary to keep the security up. If the room was too big it allowed too many opportunities to miss a spying device or prying eyes. "The White Gods have landed in Cairo and we have had zero communication with Governor Amiri or any of his staff."

"So it would seem we got played," the President said and followed it up with a long groan. "I should have known that information was to juicy to be true."

Vulcan nodded and wished he had voiced his doubts about the information when he had the chance, but there wasn't tiem for regrets. "Our problem is compounded by the fact that as soon as The White Gods appeared a large force field appeared over the entire continent. We can't send in teleporters, intangibles or energy manipulators. The field appears to be highly sophisticated and the main power sources are coming from four points across the continent."

The President slammed a fist on his desk. "Someone set this up. Someone wants Africa to get hit. But why there? There are other more prime targets."

"Unless it was something against Governor Nur," Brian said.

Stark agreed. "But who would want Amiri to get hit with this? Can we narrow that down?"

"Unfortunately sir, the Nur family has made too many enemies to try and do that," Vulcan said as he held out his hand and created a holographic image of Africa. "Our best hope lies in disabling the power sources of this field. A simple computer virus may be able to disable them and allow our L.A. forces to move into Africa immediately."

Stark nodded. He knew how thorough Vulcan was. "So I assume you already have someone on the job."

"Yes Mr. President. The Omega Sentinel is trying to decode the system now. She says it could take up to an hour before she makes a breakthrough. Whoever created this system obviously wanted to make sure that not even the most sophisticated machinery on Earth could get through quickly."

T'Chaka thought for a moment and leaned back in his plush hoverchair. "Something that complicated could not have been just snuck in without Amiri knowing it. He would have ahd to allow those machines to come into the continent. Has anyone supllied any heavy machinery to Amiri in recent months that would generate that level of power?"

Alise smiled. Great minds think alike. "I already checked into that Mr. President. And I think I may have figured out who our traitor is. Four large machines that were supposed to be energy converters were transported from Europe unde rht eexpress orders of Governor Lensherr three months ago. It was supposed to be part of the reparations that Europe was still paying Africa."

It all made sense to President Stark now and the rage on his face was evident. Clenching his fists, he leaned forward and said in almost a growl. "You all keep to your plans. I will handle him. Personally."

Vulcan ceased his holographic projection. "Sir are you sure that is wise? You have many sol—

"I am a Wakandan soldier first and foremost Vulcan. Betrayal of this kind does not go unanswered and I will not stand for it. I can take care of myself. Just worry about winning this war."

The communication ended and Alise shrugged. "I think he'll be fine."

Vulcan did not look so convinced, but orders were orders. "I will tell the Fleet Admirals to begin moving our ships towards Uranus' orbit."

Brian couldn't believe that things had turned south so fast. The battle hadn't really started yet and things were already beginning to turn against their favor. He wasn't so sure anymore if Battlestar had picked the right man to lead this expeditionary force. There were so many variables and so many personalities to deal with. He just wasn't sure if he was cut out for it.

**=AR=**

**Earth-181203**

Noh-Varr walked alongside Prelate Darkstar and asked, "Why me? Why would he want me for a Prelate? I'm not even a mutant."

"He sees talent in you comrade. It is not often Lord Onslaught goes to such lengths to bring an individual into his fold," Darkstar said.

Onslaught watched the alien from afar. He would be the first piece in building his dimension spanning empire. This would be just the first of many Earths to call him master.

**NEXT ISSUE: Amiri faces The White Gods! Can he survive? **

**SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL**

**The Clan Akkaba **

The Nubian

Obal

Hyena's Laugh

Eshu

Kokola

Some of **Earth-97701's** Timeline

**November 2021-** Catastrophic battle occurs between Hank Pym/allies and Songbird/allies. Pym unleashes The Sentry to demolish Songbird's side and he traps the X-Men in The Negative Zone. Pym unleashes The Magus.

**February 2022-** After many confrontations, The Magus finally kills Tichondrius, but then sets his sights for the stars. The Crusaders try to lock him up again, but are all killed in the process.

**March 2022-** Selene and Skaar join with The Magus. Apocalypse frees the X-Men from their prison. He kills the ones who are useless to him and turns two of them (Rogue and Moonstar) into his Horsemen.

**May 2022-** Frostsword massacres the Hellfire Club as a test to prove herself worthy to join with The Magus. Selene kills an aging Magneto and steals his powers for herself. Skaar convinces his world to join with The Magus.

**August 2022-** Apocalypse sends out his Horsemen and Clan Akabba to attack Europe to purge them of weakness. Iceman and Dazzler of The Heralds try to stop them, but to no avail. Seeing an opportunity, Selene sets a wild Zatharos loose on the continent as well.

**February 2023-** The Magus and his allies attack Chandilar. It is the first battle of The Magus War. Amy Trask along with Forge create a new type of Sentinel called The Cerebro Unit to help stop the spree of The Horsemen.

**March 2023-** The heroes have a showdown with Apocalypse and his forces in a ravished Britain. During the course of the battle, The Magus arrives and gravely wounds Apocalypse. He also converts the Cerebro unit into his newest general. Apocalypse agrees to help the heroes combat The Magus.

**October 2025-** Apocalypse marries Lady Mastermind three months before their son, Marcus Nur, is due to be born. Conservative politicians take control across Europe and begin a new isolationist policy. Wakanda opens its borders and spreads its technology across Africa.

**January 2026-** The U.S. Government creates X-Force as a new branch of the military and allows the X-Men under the direction of Amy Trask to head it up. Wakanda lures Apocalypse and his Horsemen into a trap. They kill Apocalypse and trap the Horsemen in stasis. Ben Grimm moves with his wife and son, Reed, to Australia.


	8. Chapter 8

**A.R.M.O.R. #8**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 8**

Wiccan sat in The Pantheon's Mess Hall at a table with Portal, Gaia, Dark Angel, Lady Ororo, and The Human Blizzard. He took a bite of his ham sandwich (amazing they still had those here) and said, "So we should be in Uranus' orbit in a few hours. Am I the only one thinking about soiling themselves?"

Lady Ororo laughed. "This is a far different Wiccan from the one an hour ago boasting of conquering all magic."

"Magic I know, but this…it's something entirely new to me. It's brutal and right there in your face. I just can't see myself ever getting use to these kinds of operations."

The Human Blizzard was incapable of eating food, but eh enjoyed the human contact. He made sure to sit across from Dark Angel though because he still wasn't quite comfortable with the idea of the woman. "Being nervous is natural, but Uranus is a heavily fortified planet. It will be The Magus' first target and not us."

Portal stirred his spaghetti up with a fork. "Doesn't stop him from sending a few stray bullets our way in the meantime."

With every second, Charles was growing more and more weary of being here. There were some fantastic sights to be sure, but that was little compared to the danger that they were all about to be thrust against. The Magus had spent two hundred years at war with Earth and in that time managed to ruin nearly two other major races along with dozens of smaller ones. Now they were expected to fight in what was being billed at the last battle of the war. A battle that was going to be bloody, hard fought, and bound to have causalities. Charles' usual instinct would have been to create a portal and get out of dodge while he still could, but girlfriends had a way of breaking old habits.

"It won't quite be that easy," The Human Blizzard said. "Graviton of Earth-1509 is creating gravity bubbles around all of the fleet ships that will deflect any oncoming fire up and away from the ships. They would have to ram us if they were looking to do any real damage and with Uranus in the way that will be their priority."

Something wasn't making sense for Gaia in Jonas' explanation. "Ok if Uranus is such a powerful defensive system then why would The Magus send his ships right into it? Why not come in from Mars or something?"

"The Uranus defensive network is one of the most powerful weapons in this galactic sector. Even if The Magus was to come in from Venus orbit, the network would be able to target his ships with as much accuracy as if he was right in front of them. He knows this and because of that won't waste any time trying to be sneaky. Probably why he resurrected The White Gods. It was the only surprise move he had available to him."

The mentioning of The White Gods piqued Dark Angel's curiosity. "And what's the deal with those guys? Everyone around here seems to get all squeamish when you mention them."

"They are the least remnants of a war of the gods. The pantheons of The Quists and Skrull went to war with the gods of Earth sometime shortly after the war with The Magus started. Only The White Gods and Balder of Asgard survived the war. Nobody knows what happened to Balder after, but The White Gods tried to destroy The Magus. His general, Selene, was able to trap them in a death spell."

Wiccan was becoming more and more impressed with this world's Selene. "That must have taken incredible skill to do."

"Magic is not my department I'm afraid, but I think that was the only time that Earth and The Magus managed to agree on an action being taken. Now that he's released them, I'm not sure how we're going to put them back," The Human Blizzard said.

Lady Ororo appeared sorrowful for a moment. "Such creatures cannot be trapped. They can only be destroyed."

The Human Blizzard nodded. "I fear that you may be right Lady Ororo. I hope Earth is prepared to fight them. The Horsemen and Prime Sentinels may not be enough."

Shevaun thought of Motormouth and Mindbender. "They will be able to succeed. I'm sure of it. Brian wouldn't have sent ineffective A.R.M.O.R. agents down there. He seems to have split us up into areas where we would be the absolutely most effective."

Portal sat down his fork and said squarely to The Human Blizzard, "The question you should really be asking is how your government is going to lock all these beasties back up once we win?"

"I have thought about that as I just stated with The White Gods and frankly, I think in ending one war we may have created another one."

Portal laughed bitterly. "Big leap there man. You're assuming this war is going to end."

Gaia ribbed her boyfriend and smiled at The Human Blizzard. "You're right to be confident that this war is going to end. Charles just has a half-empty state of mind."

Wiccan just loved how Gaia swooped in to always clean up her boyfriend's verbal messes. Portal wasn't' deserving of such a wonderful woman and he could only imagine how the man would manage to say the wrong thing when they departed for Earth-521. He almost wished that Brian had demanded he take Gaia instead of her lousy lover. "If they don't win then none of us go home and The M.D.A. will likely send in more people."

"And no telling what they would be walking into," Lady Ororo said as she imagined the number of ways this battle could go wrong. "So we make sure we win to keep anyone else from having to clean up our mess."

Portal shrugged. "Out of our hands really."

Wiccan had to grit his teeth to keep from saying something. As much as he wanted to deliver a backhanded comment, he still needed Portal's help. Ticking him off would do anything but guarantee he was going to get that help. So he had to soak up and deal with Portal's eternal pessimism if he hoped to get what he wanted out of him.

Dark Angel fortunately didn't have that limitation. "Could you shut up already Charles? We can and we will win! I don't want to know you are my back-up out there and can't get a bleeding grip!"

"Hey! I'm being asked to possibly get myself and my girlfriend killed out here! I think I'm more than entitled to complain."

The Human Blizzard stiffened up for a moment and said, "Perhaps it is time for me to leave. This seems a bit too personal for me to partake in."

Gaia's eyes cut into daggers at Portal. "No. Stay Jonas. This conversation is over. Let's go Charles."

Portal knew that look well. "Ok. We'll see you guys later."

The two got up from the table wordlessly with Gaia taking the lead and Portal following behind with slumped shoulders. Wiccan watched the two leave and felt a great swell of satisfaction at Charles being humbled in front of everyone. Underneath the surface of that though, he held a bit of jealousy. There was a spark between those two and despite their constant arguments they made it work. For lack of a better term, they were each other's other half. Wiccan's was trapped on a conquered world and he was here enjoying a laugh at the expense of someone else. At that thought, he got up from the table too.

"I'm going to go to my room. Get a little rest before we come into Uranus orbit," Wiccan said.

Lady Ororo was even more worried about Wiccan now because something was truly disturbing him. Her empathic abilities allowed her to pick up on that and that made someone like Wiccan even more potentially dangerous. Whatever was bothering him, Wiccan was the type of person who would be determined to fix it. Ambition mixed with a strong emotional desire never worked out well. She had seen too many fall to that on her world.

"Well, that about killed lunch," Dark Angel said with a sigh. "Guess we'll pick this up when we get to Uranus."

Lady Ororo nodded. "So it would seem. We should say a prayer for ourselves and those on Earth."

_**=AR=**_

**Cairo, Egypt**

Amiri landed in the market square like a small meteor. Dust and chunks of dirt flew up from his impact that made the already terrified people even more frightened. That was until they were able to make out the man who was in the midst of the dust. His red tattoos wer glowing and crimson light trickled from his eyes.

"Governor Nur!"

"He'll save us!"

"Praise the Nur family!"

Amiri's ego couldn't prevent him from taking in some of the accolades, but there was work to be done. He was about to face something that had not walked on Earth in quite some time. Gods.

"I smell the stench of dying mortal flesh!"

The renewed screams of the people of Cairo reached Amiri's ears as they rushed past him to escape The White God that had issued the insult. Amiri stood his ground and stepped out of the crater his body had created. "From what I heard it was a mortal who locked you away and a mortal who has you on a leash now."

"You will regret your words Child of Apocalypse."

One by one all of The White Gods revealed themselves in front of Amiri. Four in total, but they had survived a heavenly war more brutal than any Earthly mythology had ever conceived of. Amiri knew he was facing down a mighty challenge, but Apocalypse strengthened him. The blood of Apocalypse flowed readily through him and that would be his way to victory.

Tabir of the Endless White Forest was at the front of The White God gathering. He stood at nearly ten feet and had chalk-white skin that shined from the fine coat of slime covering his skin. Loopy red eyes bore straight into Amiri and he would have found it comical if not for Tabir's other prominent feature. Long, curved claws dangled from each of his fingers and they were heavy enough that Tabir could only drag them along the ground. The White God's teeth were as black as his hair. "The mortal thinks to insult us. We should teach him manners."

Two ten-inch blades erupted from Amiri's forearms and he pointed them at Tabir. "You are more than welcome to try."

"Be careful what you ask for mortal," Tabir said as he launched himself at Nur with a guttural roar that sounded like a wounded eagle falling from the sky.

The god moved swifter than Amiri had expected and he narrowly dodged a set of claws from taking his head clean off. Tuck and rolling forward, Amiri drove his blades into the stomach of Tabir. He pushed himself up off his knees and lifted The White God into the air with his blades in the god's stomach. Hurling him back into his fellow gods, Amiri said, "Who's next?"

Tabir had been caught and steadied in one hand by Deyunja of The Rotting Hand. Of course, it helped that the said hand was about the size of a frying pan. Deyunja was a mammoth man and covered from head to toe in white armor that was littered with dozens of red spikes. In his other hand, he carried an axe that looked like it could cleave a car in two with one swing. Amiri knew Deyunja's feats the best of all The White Gods. It had been him who had slain Hercules. That death was what had finished The Olympians in the war.

"This grows tiresome. Let us finish this weakling off now," Deyunja said as he sat Tabir on the ground. Tabir and the two other gods nodded in agreement.

Amiri bent his stance in preparation for the attack. "I am a child of Apocalypse! And you will yield to me before the day is done."

Mulezta of the Vanished White Valley threw back his head in laughter. It seemed to echo through and rip across the sky. His mouth was full of long, serrated blue pikes that had a closer resemblance to the carapace of a beetle than with teeth. "This one has fire. I like it. I'll destroy it, but I like it."

Deyunja lifted his axe above his head and charged at Amiri. Before he could take more than two steps the ground caved in under him and the rest of The White Gods. Amiri smirked and looked behind him at a new arrival on the battlefield.

"About time. Where are the others?"

The Nubian floated across the air and landed next to his commander. He stood almost a head taller than Amiri and was wrapped in a beige cloak. "They are on their way. Unfortunately, there are other crises at hand."

Amiri's eyebrow perked up. "Other crises?"

The Nubian's long black hair masked most of his face from Amiri so he could contort his face into whatever expressions he wanted. Right now it was framed to match his annoyance. "Surely master you have not forgotten that The White Gods had soldiers at their command that were imprisoned along with them."

"Of course not," Amiri lied. He had been so caught up in the idea of actually facing down gods that he had forgotten that detail. "Well, I doubt your sinkhole will keep them off their game for long."

As if on cue, The White Gods rose up from the sinkhole on the green and white feathered wings of Awjalu the Light. Tabir and Deyunja each stood on a wing as if they held no weight at all and Malezta was being carried by the unusually long arms of Awjalu.

The Nubian looked up and shed his cloak revealing a tight black vest accented by gold gauntlets. It also brought to light the sword that was strapped across his chest. Pulling his hair back into a ponytail, he asked of his commander, "Which two do you want?"

Amiri laughed. "We'll let them decide."

_**=AR=**_

**The Pantheon- Central Computer Station**

Vulcan walked into the room and immediately felt the energy of The Omega Sentinel. Energy was his domain and it was part of the reason he had been alive so long. His body was slowing converting itself into pure energy. Gabriel wasn't sure what exactly would happen to him once the process was complete, but he could not wait for the day to be completely free of his mortal form.

In that way he envied The Omega Sentinel. She had gone from being an ordinary human into an immortal form of metal that would endure and only grow stronger as the years passed. He stood behind her for a moment admiring the work she was doing trying to break the field around Africa.

[[Is there something I can help you with Vulcan?]]

"I've just come to check on the progress in solving our current dilemma."

[[The timeframe for completion has been accelerated. The field will be down in 5.2 minutes.]]

"Excellent Karima. Good work."

The Omega Sentinel looked back at Vulcan with a grim expression. [[Karima is dead. I am a Sentinel and when this is all over I will remind everyone of that.]]

Vulcan had known that calling her Karima would strike a chord. It was just an attempt on his part to see if anything mortal in her was left. "Once this is all over with huh? Should I take that as a threat Omega Sentinel?"

[[No. Only because your chances of victory against The Magus are still at 43% even with my assistance. So you'll be dead before I have the chance.]]

"And your logical limitations begin to show," Vulcan said like a master would to his pet. "You only assume our defeat because you assume that every possible card has been played. We have a few more tricks up our sleeve yet."

_**=AR=**_

**The Alexander Galaxy**

**Olympias System**

Gravity floated above the orbit of the Olympias System's fourth planet and stared straight up at the giant green rip in the sky. Holding his wrist communicator up to his mouth, he said, "I'm at The Fault. I'm going in."

**NEXT ISSUE: The battle rages on Uranus and The Heralds go to work!**

**SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL**

**Earth-97701 Historical Records**

**THE SENTINEL WAR**

-An incursion that occurred late in the 20th century involving the entities known as Bastion, Nimrod, and Ahab. Bastion kidnapped the great robotics geniuses of his time (Tony Stark, Hank Pym, Phillip Horton, and Suzi Endo) and brainwashed them into helping him create new classes of Sentinels. The greatest of these experiments was an enhancement of the Prime Sentinel that would come to be known as The Omega Sentinel.

-Bastion and his allies sent their new armies to attack X-Men bases in san Marco, Jamaica, and Los Angeles. Vulcan was the only survivor of the San Marco attack. The crippled X-Men received help from The Avengers and Crusaders in fighting off the Sentinels.

-When they encountered The Omega Sentinel, they found themselves completely caught off guard. The Omega Sentinel beat all of them and would have killed Winter Soldier if not for Amadeus Cho sending her to The Negative Zone. A strange precursor for what would happen to the X-Men.

-Fortune happened to be on the heroes' side as The Blue Marvel and Icarus returned from space. With them rallying the heroes, they were able to locate Bastion's base. The Blue Marvel ripped Nimrod apart while Icarus wiped the mind of Ahab clean. Bastion was detained and locked away. SWORD retrieved The Omega Sentinel out of The Negative Zone and handed her over to SHIELD.


	9. Chapter 9

**A.R.M.O.R. #9**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 9**

**The Stormrider- The Magus' Command Ship**

**200 Miles Outside Uranus' Orbit**

The Magus sat back on his throne and looked out the bridge window to the confrontation that was awaiting him. The large bulk of Earth's fleet was here to oppose him along with their powerful defensive system on Uranus. He had tried to think of a way to avoid this battle because he had never been one for large, unnecessary incursions. But he soon realized there was no way to avoid this. Earth was too heavily guarded for subterfuge to be effective, but he was still confident about this course. He had the Earth ships outnumbered three to one and that would be enough to deliver a crushing blow if he could disable Uranus.

Uranus had always been in the back of The Magus' mind ever since the defensive system was put into place. He had tried again and again to put spies into place to sabotage its construction, but the weapon eventually came online. It stood out like a defiant wench begging for him to slap her. Today would be the day he delivered that abuse and it had been a day long in coming. This would be the beginning of the end for Earth and their allies. Once that green and blue rock fell then it would not be long before the rest of the galaxy crumbled and The Magus' new empire would begin.

One of the ship's navigators, a gangly Kree, bowed in front of The Magus and said, "We will be in Uranus' orbit in two minutes."

The Magus appeared thoughtful for a moment. They should have already been under attack given the vast range of the Uranus defense network. Why was Earth holding back? "I want only a third of the fleet to move forwards and have everyone else stay back. The humans are up to something."

"Yes milord. It will be done," the navigator said as he feverishly sped off to deliver The Magus' command.

With just a thought, eight holographic interfaces surrounded The Magus in a semi-circle slightly above his head. The faces showing on the interfaces were those of his generals and three of his lieutenants. "We don't have long so I will make this quick. Something is wrong in how the humans are going about this so we will disable Uranus as soon as possible. I want the ground invasion started now and have all ships focus their firepower on Earth's capital ships."

Arides, last of the true Kree supers and loyal general of The Magus, asked, "What of The Accusers?"

"Not yet. When I feel they are needed I shall tell you. You all have your orders. Let us bring an end to Earth!"

_**=AR=**_

**The Pantheon**

"All my A.R.M.O.R. agents are in their designated units and are ready for immediate deployment," captain Britain said as he walked onto the bridge of the Earth fleet's largest and most potent ship. The Pantheon was easily three times the size of all the other Earth fleet vessels. Being on this world made Brian wondered if his Earth would one day produce such colossal vessels.

Vulcan looked back at the A.R.M.O.R. Field Commander and acknowledged his statement. "Swift work Commander. I have good news as well. Omega Sentinel disabled the field surrounding Africa and our forces are headed there now."

Brian moved closer and was able to see through a large holographic screen the full scope of the armada that they were about to face. Nearly a thousand ships were barreling down on their almost three hundred. The numbers were against them. "You know they are going to try to flank us."

"Of course. It's what I would do, but your Graviton is going to prevent that from happening for as long as he can. But they then my surprise should have arrived."

"Surprise? Something else the President didn't tell me about?" Brian asked trying to mask the annoyance in his voice. He didn't like being kept out of the loop. The smallest detail cold help or hinder his strategy of attack and T'Chaka holding back wasn't going to benefit either one of them.

"The President doesn't know about this. No one does except for me and you."

"Why?"

Vulcan rolled back his shoulders as he tried to multitask talking and keeping track of how close the ships were getting. "Because I have long suspected that here were traitors in our midst and I wanted us to have some sort of assured trump card in the final battle."

"Makes sense," Captain Britain said without argument. He didn't really feel like pressing the point. They were going to make contact with The Magus' foes in thirty seconds. The Uranus defense network was already firing off shots and a number of fighters were headed their way. "I'll dispatch the teams according to plan."

"Very good. I'm going to take my place with Omega Sentinel and The Deathloks on the ground," Vulcan said as he bent down to put a hand on Fleet Admiral Banner's shoulder. "You are now in charge of the fleet. Press the offense. We'll do everything we can to keep your ships from being damaged."

Banner saluted. "Yes sir. Be careful out there sir."

"I will. Keep our men alive."

**=_AR=_**

**Uranus**

Karima found The Deathloks to be suitable partners, but she knew that The Prime Sentinels would have been more effective. It wasn't bias, but simply fact. The Omega Sentinel had long been incapable of such human things. All she saw now was probabilities and percentages. What had once made her human was awash in a sea of numbers. Though when Vulcan had called her Karima for a moment the machine could have almost sworn it was…angry.

[[Unit Packs A1-B4 guard the western perimeter. Unit Packs C2-D88 follow my lead. Enemy forces are moving in fast over the methane lake to the north.]]

Vulcan materialized above The Omega Sentinel in a large flash of orange light. A dozen Deathlok rifles were pointed at him until they were able to identity who he was. For just a moment, only a brief moment, Karima felt that tinge of anger again. [[Our ships are engaged.]]

"Yes. Now have you established an effective defensive perimeter? Icarus is coming in with a thousand Kree."

[[It is foolish to waste all these troops on fighting off only a thousand Kree. An obviously inferior species.]]

"Normally I would be inclined to agree, but they're all wearing armor based off some of the technology used to create you."

[[Again you fail to mention details. Organics and their lack of clarity. That trait will not help us succeed here today.]]

Vulcan smirked for a moment. "You might find that you're wrong about that."

In the distance, the roar of the Kree jetpacks could be heard ripping through Uranus' volatile atmosphere. Normally, the gas powering those machines would have frozen solid, but terraforming technology had reduced the planet's harshness significantly. Unfortunately, the machines were not yet done doing their makeover, but Vulcan had long ago stopped needing to breathe oxygen. Karima saw when she looked at him that he no longer had a heart either.

[[Enemy units are on their way. They will make contact in exactly two minutes fifty seconds.]]

Vulcan rose into the air and enveloped himself in a magnetic force field. "Unit Packs D89-F1 serve as reinforcements for Karima's front line. Everyone else form defensive barriers around the system communication towers in groups of thirty."

The system communication towers were what allowed strategic orders and patterns to be fed into the Uranus defense network. If those were taken out then there would be no accurate way to aim the many weapons lining the planet's surface and atmosphere. Vulcan had guessed correctly that those would be The Magus' first target.

Vulcan flew above Karima and her designated Deathloks as they charged forward to face Icarus and his Kree soldiers. It was only thirty seconds before they sighted each other.

Icarus was at the lead of the soldiers. His appearance was angelic with milky white skin, golden blonde hair and light blue eyes, but he was anything but an angel. He was garbed in a thick white breastplate trimmed with gold and in both of his hands he was carrying large energy rifles. Each rifle had three barrels about the size of an apple. His grey wings were flapping wildly to maintain lift in the thick Uranus atmosphere.

Leaping into the air, The Omega Sentinel kicked off her own rocket boosters under her feet and slammed right into Icarus. The two went slamming through a few of his Kree soldiers before crashing into the ground. Vulcan wasted no time taking advantage of the momentary confusion by unleashing a magnetic wave of energy at the Kree soldiers.

Chunks of their white armor broke off and exposed their skin to the harsh, cold Uranus air. Many of them cried out from the exposure and sought frantically to find some way to keep their skin from suffering frostbite. That was when Vulcan shouted, "Attack!"

The Deathloks rose up their laser pistols and a sea of red strips cut through the Uranus atmosphere and into the Kree soldiers. The re Kree who had sense enough to try and fire back were soon cut down by the laser fire while most were cut down in the agony of their flesh being turned to rock by the cold air. Most of the fire struck the Kree helmets, as Deathloks were programmed to attack for the maximum amount of damage.

Meanwhile, Icarus pushed The Omega Sentinel off of him and fired his riles at her in close range. The blasts knocked Karima back a number of yards, but did nothing except singe her out armor. Icarus snarled at the woman. "They must have gotten really desperate to let you out of your cage."

Accessing her historical records, Karima saw the instrumental role that Icarus had played in the defeat of her master, Bastion. [[A battle between us has been long overdue.]]

Icarus fired off four more shots at The Omega Sentinel while deflecting shots from The Deathloks with his invulnerable wings. Karima nimbly dodged each blast and launched two rockets from panels below her neck. The rockets cut through the air at Icarus and he had to take to the air. Narrowly escaping the attack, Icarus was about to fire his rifles again when he was struck across the face with a fist from Vulcan.

"You were never very good at covering your behind," Vulcan said as he struck Icarus across the face again.

Then he wrapped his hands around one of the barrels from each rifle and poured geothermal energy into the weapons turning them into metal slag. Icarus dropped the weapons in frustration and kicked Vulcan in the stomach. "Same ol arrogant Gabriel I see."

As Vulcan flew back from the attack, Icarus clapped his hands together and created a sword of pure light. Hot as a sun and powerful enough to wreak havoc on Vulcan's energy form if it got close enough. Icarus wouldn't' be able to get that close at the moment because he was still blocking and dodging attacks from the hundreds of Deathloks and Omega Sentinel.

If it wasn't so annoying, Vulcan might have actually been impressed with Icarus' aerial agility. That feeling was quickly replaced with one of dread as he felt a familiar energy tickle him in the back of his ear. Looking down to The Omega Sentinel, he said, "We have incoming!"

Dozens of white square portals opened up all around them and out poured more Kree soldiers.

_**=AR=**_

**Outside _The Pantheon_**

Venom landed one of the enemy Kree fighters and expanded is body until he had covered the entire ship in slimy black symbiote. The Herald crumbled the ship until it resembled a ball more than a fighter. When he was done, he flew through the air and repeated the process on another Kree fighter.

Firelord flew under one of the capital ships and with his fire staff drew a line of steady fire along its bottom. When he pulled away from the line of flame, it quickly expanded until it was covering the entire ship. Escape pods frantically wee trying to pull away, but The Herald made sure that they were coated in his intense frame as well. He wanted there to be no survivors. That was the way of his former master.

Iceman had completely frozen another Kree capital ship and with his Power Cosmic, he pushed the ship right into another one creating an explosion of ice and fire. He quickly flew away from the carnage and began to zap fighters left and right like they were bugs. Streams of energy fire that were headed at The Pantheon, he simply turned into ice spikes that he then hurtled at other enemy ships.

Morg was eagerly hacking away at the fighters that were coming from The Magus' customized fleet. Each ship was about thirty feet long and resembled a scorpion given wings. The Heralds axe cut and cut until he cleaved some ships in half. He leapt from ship to ship with a blood drunk smile on his face.

Captain Britain watched all this from the deck of the capital ship and felt a bit better about his chances of making it out of this alive. Turning to Fleet Admiral Banner, he said "Time for ht next part of this plan to kick in."

Banner nodded. "I have confidence in our people. Graviton is still maintaining so they should have an opening for a little longer."

Brian put his wrist communicator towards his mouth and said, "All Command Ship Attack Groups you have permission to deploy and engage. Take down primary targets and if possible move to assist others with targets once done."

Tapping his wrist for a private line, Brian said, "Blue Marvel? You there?"

Loud and clear Field Commander

"Your orders are going to be slightly different. You are to get Skaar off his ship and planet side."

Any one in particular?

"You have your pick there. Just get him away from the ship. Then your team is to take command of his vessel and ram it into The Magus."

I'm not comfortable sending my team on a suicide mission

"They have every permission to get off that ship as soon as it's on a course for The Magus'. President Stark assured me that The Argonauts could handle this assignment."

And we can. Blue Marvel out

Brian sighed as the communication came to an end and he watched The Heralds continue to rip through any ship they encountered. He really wasn't cut out for all this and he knew it. Every effort was being made on his part to keep his hands from shaking. He wasn't any more scared than normal in these situations, but this one had him more than nervous. All of The M.D.A. was looking at him to succeed.

**NEXT ISSUE: The war continues onward! Amiri and The Nubian try to hold their own against The White Gods hoping for help to come. Well, they won't have to wait long because here comes Josiah Rage and Fire Mage! **

**SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL**

**Kree Ship Fleet Captains**

Cpt. Vlornan Mod

Cpt. Noril Stirr

Cpt. Sinora Manoi

Cpt. Vinorsa Iodirr


	10. Chapter 10

**A.R.M.O.R. #10**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 10**

**Hala Orbital Observation Deck**

Adding all of their ships together, even the cargo ones, there was only an eighth of the Kree fleet left to guard Hala. That disturbed Cpt. Sinora Manoi deeply, but The Magus wanted to crush Earth and felt that Hala was relatively safe. He had been left behind to make sure that homeworld was guarded from any unlikely attack, but he wasn't sure how he was going to do it with his relatively small amount of ships. The forces he had under him wouldn't be able to repel a large attack, but The Magus felt that no attack was coming.

Being under that man's thumb had done nothing positive for his people. It had been providing them much in the way of protection, but The Magus had sucked the resources of his world dry. The Kree Empire was struggling before The Magus had come, but at least it was still proud. Once they allied themselves to him it was nothing but a downward spiral. The Kree now cowered in the face of The Magus and were no longer the proud people that had once been.

Certain voices in The Kree government whispered of being rid of The Magus once and for all, but they were fearful to act now. The spoils of Earth would be too great and Kree would support them with such a grand victory in sight. Earth had been a thorn in the side of the Kree for decades and now to see them on the cusp of defeat was too powerful a propaganda tool for The Magus. Manoi hoped for their defeat, but hoped that neither The Magus nor his generals returned from the battle.

Dozens of components buzzed and whirred at him from the control console of the deck. They were bright green indicating he was receiving multiple communications from ships in the area. Leaning forward, the elderly Kree said, "Open the lines."

Eight screens popped up in front of him and they were the faces of all his subordinates. He was surprised that all of them had contacted him at the same time. Something had to be wrong and fear bubbled up in the captain's stomach. "What's wrong?"

Firmly planted on each of his officer's faces was the same expression. It was the look someone had right when they realized Death was coming for them. Then he knew. "Who? And how many?

Grappling with the words, one of his officers replied, "The Shi'ar sir. And it looks like their whole fleet sir."

Hala's meager protection would not be enough. The Kree homeworld was soon to be at an end. Manoi hoped all the more for The Magus' victory. Otherwise, The Kree would go from a proud people to a slave race. "Try to attack all critical systems. We'll see if we can take a few of their best down with us."

"If we can hold them off long enough then the people on the surface may be able to prepare a defense."

Justifiably, one of the officers was furious. The Magus has doomed us all! Homeworld has been left wide open because of his stupidity."

Kree were warriors, but they weren't fond of suicide attacks. They did not think so little for their lives as to just throw them away in a pointless, futile battle. Still, they had no options. No Kree would abandon Hala to blatant, open attack and surrendering would only find them all just as dead. They would not let history label them as cowards.

Lifting himself up in spirit, Manoi said, "I don't know about anyone else, but I will not let Hala fall this day!"

The Magus may have left their homeworld, but they would not.

_**=AR=**_

**Cairo, Egypt**

The Nubian looked up at the approaching White Gods and asked, "Which two do you want?"

Amiri laughed. "We'll let them decide."

Tabir of the Endless White Forest leaped off of Awjalu's wing and slammed into the ground. Deyunja did the same and landed next to his fellow White God. The two charged at Amiri with w claws and an axe. Nur ran to them headlong and flipped forward into the air. He landed on Deyunja's shoulders and drove his blades into The White God's neck. The lord of The Rotting Hand let out a terrible cry as he fell to the ground swinging his gigantic axe wildly.

Seeing his injured comrade, Tabir swung right at Deyunja's head in hopes of slashing at Amiri, but his unnatural claws missed the descendant of Apocalypse by inches. Amiri rolled away from the attack and his red tattoos began to pulsate. Nur's muscles started to bulge wider and the bones in his face became more pronounced. His shoulders expanded to compensate for the added muscle and his legs e about to burst from his pants.

Tabir eyed Amiri widely with his loopy eyes and licked his entire face with a long purple tongue. Gold blisters seemed to cover the entire length of the long appendage. It was a sickening sight, but amongst The Quist that tongue was revered as a sign of long life and the pus of those bumps was said to have great healing properties. Amiri wasn't interested in finding out if any of that was true because when he looked at that tongue all he saw was a weapon. A weapon that was more likely to snap hic neck than to keep him living.

"You move fast, but you won't be able to run forever."

Amiri rolled his chest back and then clinked his two blades together. "Does it look like I'm trying to run?"

"Brave, but foolish. Your courage shall be the end of you."

They had to be holding back. Amiri was sure of this because he hadn't even exerted himself against them. It was either that or the tales of their might were greatly exaggerated. Knowing his luck, Amiri did not think he would be blessed with such fortune. So why were they holding back? What were they waiting on? Unless they were the kind of predator that preferred to play with their prey.

"Neither I nor this city will know its end today. You would be best served going back to the Endless White Forest."

Tabir flashed his claws and licked his face again just as Deyunja was rising from the ground with his wounds completely healed.

_**=AR=**_

**The Coldwitch- Selene's Command Ship**

The docking port of the ship was completely empty because all of the fighters it once housed were now deployed in battle against Earth's forces. That was why no one noticed when dozens of lights of varying colors started to pop up around the port. They ranged from bright greens to dingy grays, but out of each light stepped a member of The M.D.A. but now they were better classified as a soldier of the organization. Lady Ororo stepped out of white light next to Wiccan, who had his hands on his temples with his eyes closed. She felt the mystical energies emanating from him.

Wiccan pulled his hands back from his head and took a deep breath, "The wards in this place are incredible. I wasn't able to hide our presence from every one of them so we're still going to have to be careful."

Sister Grimm of Earth-8871 walked up to Wiccan with her Gibborim Staff in hand. "We should try to break more of them down before e move. Leaving them p is asking for Selene to trap us."

"Unfortunately, we don't have that kind of time," Wiccan replied. Selene's wards were intricate and required a great amount of effort to break down. It was like unraveling a complicated knot of barbed wire. Pulling it apart was already hard enough, but you had to worry about cutting yourself along the way. "The wards that are still functional will just have to stay that."

Grimm capitulated to Wiccan because he was the leader of this mission, but she honestly felt that he was putting all of them into far too much unnecessary danger. There was no telling what Selene had waiting for tm on this ship. The woman's dark magic hung in the air like a rotting carcass. She had seen her fair share of dark magic before, but this magic was complex and elaborate. One string weaved around another in long, wild patterns. It would not be easily banished or defeated.

James Howlett, Master of the Wild Winds on his world, stepped forward. "So we're here. What now?

"This ship is too big for us to track down Selene together. We're going to have to split up. There are fifty of us so five squads of ten should just about do it. Lady Ororo, James, Sister Grimm, Draco and myself will lead them, Wiccan said. In the back of his mind, he was still trying to unravel the wards of Selene, but it was a futile task. It would require his full concentration to do any good and he was more likely to trip one of them than dispel it.

_**=AR=**_

**Cairo, Egypt**

The Nubian commanded the air to blow each one of Awjalu's serrated feathers past him. He was flying high in the air and had to either dodge or cut down the deadly feathers of The White God. The feathers were starting to come with more speed and frequency. It was starting to tax him to avoid them. Knowing that he had to go on the offensive, The Nubian shot out a fireball from one hand and sent it searing through the sky right at Awjalu's head. The White God twisted out of the way of the attack and the fireball went tumbling to the ground.

It had opened up an opportunity for The Nubian that wasn't there before. Awjalu taking time to avoid the attack stopped him momentarily from delivering any of his own. So with that window of opportunity, The Nubian summoned a small cyclone that swallowed Awjalu and set him into a whirlwind. Unsheathing his sword, The Nubian focused on making the wind carry him across the sky so he could deliver his weapons right into the heart of Awjalu the Light.

The leader of The Clan Akkaba let out a guttural roar as he flew into what he hoped would be a fatal blow against The White God. He never reached the cyclone that he had created. A sickening squish reached his ears and his body was thrown off balance and upwards. Looking down at his chest, The Nubian saw a large blue spike sticking trough it .The last thing he saw was a ship coming across the skyline and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He fell like a rock out of the sky and slammed into the frail wooden stand of a merchant selling chickens by the cage full. Crashing into the stand head fist obliterated is skull and wood shards were sent in every direction.

Amiri had witnessed all of this, but knew that there was nothing he could for his soldier. The eyes of Tabir and Deyunja were fixed upon him. Very soon all of The White Gods would be looking upon him as a target. If he was going to go down though, he had every intention of taking one of these monsters with him. Because he imagined they would soon stop toying with their prey.

"Your friend was quite soft," Mulzeta said as the blue spike that had entered The Nubian flew through the air and back into The White God's mouth. "His blood is quite bitter."

That was when Amiri heard the roar of the spacecraft above him and saw a dozen blasts of hit, ink lasers rip across the sky and into The White Gods. It sent up a haze of dust and prompted cries of pain from the deities. Looking up, Amiri recognized the ship because of the Spider-Man picture plastered across the bottom.

Then a microphone enhanced voice echoed across the vicinity. "Hands off my man."

Amiri smiled and said, "Alise."

_**=AR=**_

**Uranus**

The white portals opened up all around Vulcan, The Omega Sentinel, and the Deathloks. Dozens of Kree soldiers poured out geared up in the same armor as the ones that had initiated the attack. Vulcan flew to The Omega Sentinel and scooped her up in his arms. "Seems our estimate of a thousand was off."

[[I calculate three thousand four hundred thirty-one Kree soldiers]]

"Must you always be so precise?"

[[It is my nature.]]

Vulcan took them high above the battlefield. He knew the Deathloks could hold their own for a while. "Well, I have a plan to thin those numbers out a bit."

[[If your plan is to involve me then make it quick]]

"Have somewhere to go?"

[[My systems are under attack from Cerebro. Going into shutdown mode. Will reboot soon as it is purged from my hardware]]

The Omega Sentinel's eyes went dead and she became dead weight in Vulcan's arms dragging him down a couple of yards before he steadied himself. Cursing under his breath, Gabriel was forced to think of a new plan. For indeed, his old one had hinged on The Omega Sentinel's involvement.

Icarus made his way through the throng of battling Kree and Deathloks headed straight for Vulcan. His light sword was I hand and it looked far sharper to Gabriel than it had a few minutes ago. He wondered if all weapons enhanced in quality when they were about to kill you? With The Omega Sentinel in his arms, he wasn't going to be able to dodge a single attack from the lieutenant of The Magus. S.W.O.R.D.'s commander was going to have to improvise, but luckily he hadn't climbed his way to the top by being unable to think under pressure.

When Icarus grew close, Vulcan smiled and said, "Catch!"

He hurled the heavy body of The Omega Sentinel through the air and she slammed into the approaching like a battering ram. The Sentinel's arms wrapped around Icarus' neck and the two flailed through the air like a bird with one wing clipped off. It was almost comical to watch the waving of limbs, but Vulcan knew that Karima could handle the punishment.

Swooping down, he grabbed The Omega Sentinel's ankle, swung her through the air and smacked her body right into Icarus again. The former hero flew back from the blow with his head spinning wildly and before he could get his orientation again the robot came right at him square in his chest. Icarus flew upward like a ball having been struck by a bat.

Vulcan reached his hand up and lobbed a heat blast at Icarus that matched the power of the Sun's core. It struck Icarus right in the face and vaporized his head clean off. The lieutenant's body fell into the chaos of Kree and Deathlok below. Gabriel felt no remorse, but knew that he would have to inform Blue Marvel of the death. The two had been friends once.

Looking at the state of the battle below him and the offline Omega Sentinel in his arms, Vulcan knew what he had to do to end this. He was just afraid to do it.

_**=AR=**_

**Cairo, Egypt**

Amiri was both elated and horrified that Alise had found her way here to help him. He didn't want her involved in a fight with creatures as vile as The White Gods. He was going to kill Stark for letting her come here. Her vessel circled overhead one more time and dropped more laser blasts down on the injured White Gods. Amiri wanted to yell at her to leave this place, but he knew that it would be in vain. First, she couldn't hear him and even if she could it was obvious she had made her mind up. Alise was an immovable rock once she had her mind set on a certain goal. It was infuriating to say the least, but that fire made Amiri fall in love with her.

VOOMPH! VOOMPH! VOOMPH!

Amiri looked behind him and saw that two familiar faces had teleported into the city along with a few reinforcements. Perhaps today wouldn't be his day to die.

"What's the situation Nur?" Josiah Rage asked.

Fire Mage smirked and still managed to look hardened. "The White Gods toss you around enough?"

"I have lost The Nubian, but help arrived before you," Amiri said pointing up at the sky. "I suppose she still cares about me."

Josiah Rage shook his head. "A Nur worried about love. On today of all days."

"At least he didn't do it in front of a crowd," Fire Mage said as she walked past him and eyed the crater that she guessed The White Gods were in. "Alise has pretty good aim."

VOOMPH! VOOMPH! VOOMPH!

More S.H.I.E.L.D. and X-Force soldiers arrived along with those A.R.M.O.R. agents that had been given to Rage and Fire Mage as back-up. Amiri recognized some of them, but they didn't have time for pleasantries.

Amiri sheathed his blades and grabbed Josiah's arm. "I doubt Alise's attack has done any real damage. They have been holding back."

At that moment, the ground rumbled underneath all of them and Fire Mage said, "Guess it was true the."

Josiah's eyebrow perked up. "Holding something back?"

"Nothing I thought important. Some eggheads predicated that The White Gods would need to recharge their batteries first before being at full strength," Fire Mage said as she looked back at Amiri. "Probably only reason you're alive."

**NEXT ISSUE: Who makes a sacrifice for the greater good? And who is touched by the heart of evil?**

**SUPPLEMENTAL INFO**

**The Armies of The White Gods**

**The Vilelyn of Awjalu**- They are the loyal soldiers of Awjalu literally forged from the hate in the god's heart. They carry forth his will with venomous mouths and sharp swords.

**The Ladies of the Rotting Hand**- These women serve Deyunja loyalty. Once a peaceful sect of priestesses, they earned Deyunja's wrath for spurning his advances. He cursed them to be his dark companions for all eternity.

**The Grimeak of the Vanished Valley**- The Grimeak are dark, animalistic creations born from the imagination of a rabid worshipper of Multzeta and offered up as a gift to the god.

**The Forest Dancers**- Tabir's secret magicians who are the gardeners of the White Forest. Their magic nurtures and maintains the fragile divine ecosystem that Tabir has created.


	11. Chapter 11

**A.R.M.O.R. #11**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 11**

**The Lonely Hunter- Frostsword's Command Ship**

There was no way for Portal to know if Gaia was okay or not and it was driving him crazy. It made no sense for Brian to have separated him from her. What could he possibly have been thinking? Without Gaia right in front of him he was going to be off his game. He thought Brian knew him well enough so what was it that had motivated the decision. Probably outside pressure from some of the jerks in this dimension. Charles was starting to feel better and better about his initial opinion of leaving this world to rot. The more he interacted with the people from here the less he liked it.

Fire Mage clearly had a girlfriend waiting at home. The Human Blizzard was one step away from becoming Ultron and Josiah Rage looked like a cheap Samuel L. Jackson. Alise Parker was a whiny little girl who must have gotten her position through a few backdoor deals. There was no way she was actually qualified to be an A.R.M.O.R. Director. What was next? Howard the Duck was going to pop up as one?

That was probably what ticked Portal off the most of all. He wasn't even the leader of his group! The cranky Swordsman from Earth-27538 was leading the charge and it aggravated Portal to no end to have to follow this stick in the mud's orders. Why couldn't this guy be like other versions of Kurt Marko? All the ones that Portal had encountered had no problem charging in and busting some heads. Not this guy.

"Ok this is how it's going to go. We're going to take off this ship's critical systems and make sure that Frostsword has no way off of this ship," Swordsman said as he outlined the places he wanted taken out. The escape pods, coolant systems, propulsion systems, and central computer core.

Personally, Portal wanted a chance to take off the escape pods because that seemed the least threatening, but knowing his luck he would probably get something like—

"Portal you're going to be on the central computer core with Forge, Paper Doll, Daken, Phobia, and Surge. I'll be taking Firestar, Jinx, Rimshot, Red Queen, and Titan into the propulsion system."

He proceeded to divide the others up into groups, but Portal didn't hear because he was fuming. The central computer core was likely to be covered with security. It wasn't until Dazzler of Earth-1509 tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Can I ask you a question?"

He didn't really feel like talking, but the woman looked like she had seen a ghost. "Yea. Sure."

"Have you ever encountered an alternate version of yourself?"

Portal snickered. "All the time. We are in A.R.M.O.R."

Dazzler grabbed her shoulders like a cold chill had washed through the room. "I'm new to all of this. Seeing a version of myself serving Galactus gives me the creeps. I just can't imagine me ever being like that."

"Stick around long enough. You'll see that you're capable of anything."

_**=AR=**_

**The Coldwitch**

**Fighter Repair Hangar**

Wiccan dove forward and dodged the blast of a Kree rifle. He held his hands out and said, "Flesh from bone be gone!"

Two green flares came out of his hands that struck a pair of Kree soldiers. Their skin melted back from their very bones and they quickly crumbled to the ground dead. In their last death throes, their bodies wildly shook around. Wiccan tried not to look at them when he stood to his feet and erected a magical wall between his people and the Kree soldiers occupying the hangar. The wall would keep them from harm for a while, but he couldn't sustain the structure indefinitely, especially with them piling on the rifle fire.

Satana felt that she had a way to end all of this. "Let me summon Balthazar and end this battle!"

Wiccan was firm in his response. "No. We may need you to summon him later against Selene and I'm not going to risk you wearing yourself out."

Her brother, Damien, though he was from another dimension, didn't agree. "It won't much matter if we don't even make it to Selene. And who's to say another group won't get to her first?"

"We can't risk it!" Wiccan said. He had no intention of going into battle against Selene without all of his best weapons being available to him. It was quite obvious that the Selene of this universe was an extremely powerful magic user and he had no intention of facing her at anything less than his very best.

Magma understood Wiccan's caution because on her world she had been apprentice of Selene Gallio. She understood just how ruthless the woman could be and how twisted were the things she was willing to do with her abilities. But she did have an idea. "How long do you think you can sustain that field Wiccan?"

"Another fifteen minutes at most."

"Good," Magma said as she clasped her hands together and her body began to look like a living volcano. "I'm going to channel my powers and melt the hull behind the Kree soldiers."

Damien looked wildly at Wiccan for support and then to Magma. "Are you crazy? You'll kill us as well as them."

"Not if Wiccan holds the field. Then we'll have enough time to get out of the hangar," Magma said. She was looking for approval from Wiccan before she began.

Wiccan took a deep breath and nodded. "Do it."

_**=AR=**_

**The Pantheon**

Captain Britain sat on the bridge next to Fleet Admiral Banner. He hated that this men were out there fighting while he was sitting down looking at it, but his position demanded he be in a place where he could convey new strategies and orders to the troops. As much as he wanted to be in the midst of the fight, it would have been folly for him to be. Part of him felt like a coward, but he knew this was necessary.

"How is the battle on Uranus going Admiral?"

Banner immediately said, "Lt. Roshi! What's the status on Uranus?"

"There appears to be heavy fighting, but the defense network is still holding sir. She's keeping us in this fight."

Banner sighed. "I don't know what we're going to do when we lose Uranus."

That statement surprised Brian. "When? Don't you mean if? Uranus could very well hold and allow us to continue suppressive fire on The Magus."

"Doubtful. The magus will send everything he has at Uranus in the end to stop it. I foresee this battle being determined by other means."

Cold logic always had a nasty aftertaste so Brian sat back in his chair for a moment appeared thoughtful. "Vulcan did mention he had something up his sleeve."

A bright green flash suddenly appeared in front of the usually stoic Lt. Roshi, but his expression quickly turned to one of surprise. In a matter of seconds, Vulcan materialized from the energy with The Omega Sentinel in his arms. "I see secrets are not your forte Field Commander."

"At this point can we really afford them?"

Vulcan walked up to Captain Britain and Banner sitting Karima at their feet. "I suppose not. She's not badly damaged, but Cerebro invaded her systems. She's fighting them off right now."

"And what of the ground battle Commander?" Banner asked.

"I am. But there is a way to stop them. I've just never done anything like it before."

Banner sensed a grimness that was unusual for his Commander. "Sir?"

"I'm going to make sure that Uranus is not taken. But I may not come back from it. I'm honestly not sure," Vulcan said. As he began to dissipate into green particles his last words to Brian were, "And then you'll get to see my surprise."

_**=AR=**_

**Cairo, Egypt**

Deyunja cut down a dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with one swing of his axe and with his other hand unleashed an aura that struck a squad of X-Force. The dim, white aura decayed the flesh of the mutants until it was nothing more than dried up flakes that fluttered away from their bodies. Only one of the squad members survived the attack due to her powerful healing factor, but it was going to take a while for her to pull herself together.

Mulzeta's teeth was launching out of his mouth like missiles and cutting into Prime Sentinels, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and whoever else got in their way. He laughed gleefully as his teeth would return to his mouth and fill it with the blood of the dead. It had been some time since he had experienced such carnage and he was going to enjoy every ounce of it.

Fire Mage had used her hands and created streams of fire that propelled her like a rocket through the sky until she landed behind Mulzeta. She grunted and flung her arms out in front of her, "Chew on this!"

Two pillars of fire ripped through the space between them and struck The White God square in the face. That was when Fire Mage shouted, "Mindbender! Now!"

Mindbender was only a few yards east of Fire Mage and was shielded on all sides by Prime Sentinels. They were keeping any enemy fire away from him as he followed through on Fire Mage's plan. He looked directly at Mulzeta and focused the totality of his psionic powers on The White God. Green and pink energy flickered out of Palin's eyes as he subjected Mulzeta to the full, unbridled force of his abilities. Mindbender wouldn't admit it to anyone, but part of him was exhilarated at what he was doing. All his life he had been taught to restrain his powers. His parents had been afraid all his power would take him down the same path his sister had went down and Xavier just didn't want another threat of that magnitude walking around. So he always held back.

But now in this moment he understood why his sister went the way she went. Unleashing his power like this was living. His mind was completely free as it tore through Mulzeta's thousands of memories. The joy of it was enough to bring the man to his knees and he wasn't sure how he was ever going to be able to return to his restrained state after this. This is what Xavier and his parents had feared. That he would lust in his power.

And as Mulzeta crumbled to the ground with an anguished howl, Palin was beginning to understand why. But he felt no sympathy for The White God because Palin had front row seats to the centuries of destruction and chaos that Mulzeta had been a direct cause of. If anything, it made him pus through the god's mind all the harder. He was oblivious to everything else around him. All that mattered was punishing this god.

He was so focused on his task that he didn't feel the dark essence creeping up through the back of his neck and wrapping itself around him. When he finally felt that trickle of darkness, he stopped his attack on Mulzeta and fell into the waiting arms of Fire Mage. She looked at the crumpled Mulzeta and said, "You did good kid."

Mindbender looked up with still glowing eyes. Mulzeta's red locks obscured his pale face and monstrous teeth. "He's not dead, but his mind is empty. I don't know if he'll recover."

Fire Mage noticed the fatigue in Palin's voice. "I'll have one of these Prime Sentinels get you out of here if you want soldier. You've done your part."

Starsmore shook his head and managed to stand to his feet. "Not a chance. I'm finally getting to cut loose."

The Horseman of Death flew over the two and scowled down. "You're lying. You're exhausted and you know it."

Exodus saw power behind those eyes and wondered if rage could stir it to life again. He had felt the residuals of what this young man had done to Mulzeta. That kind of psychic power rivaled his own, but such a frontal assault left him open. Even now, Death could see the dark essence that wormed its way into the man's psyche. It would be nothing for him to pluck it loose, but Death saw no gain in that.

Palin was weary, but he wasn't about ot let any Horsemen of apocalypse know it. He had more than his fair shre of history with them. "Don't worry about me. I got plenty of fight left."

Fire Mage was never one for a whole lot of blustering and belly aching. "Well then shut up about it already and let's get back in this thing!"

Death nodded and gave a menacing smirk to Mindbender. "Very well."

Fire Mage paid no attention to him as he flew away and directed the Prime Sentinels that had been guarding Mindbender to attack Deyunja, who was still tearing through her people. Superior numbers and The White Gods were still giving them trouble. Fire Mage saw that pure attrition wasn't going to win this fight.

Grabbing Mindbender's arm, she asked, "How many more times do you think you can pull that trick off?"

_**=AR=**_

**Uranus**

Vulcan rematerialized in the atmosphere and saw that the Deathloks had been reduced to a mere few hundred in the face of thousands of Kree. Despite the fact they faced inevitable annihilation, the machines fought on like victory laid waiting around the corner for them. In that respect, Vulcan envied automatons. They only understand the concepts you wanted them to understand and the idea of futility was lost on the Deathloks. They would fight with the same intensity they carried now even until there was only a single one standing. Some would construe it as courage, but it wasn't really that. Courage required an understanding of failure. The Deathloks had no such understanding and Vulcan hated them for it.

Putting his wrist communicator to his mouth, Vulcan said, "Gravity be prepared to move in five minutes."

Ok Gabriel. How are we looking out there?

"Not very good I'm afraid. But I'm about to try and level the playing field."

Do you mind me asking how?

Vulcan took a deep breath and decided that it was best not to answer Gravity's question. The answer would only upset him and he needed his old friend focused. The Cosmic Protector would need to live up to his role today and Gabriel intended to help him a bit with the task. After all, what were friends for?

Focusing inwardly, Vulcan closed his eyes and his body began to glow blazing white. Gabriel Summers had been able to manipulate any kind of energy since he was a teenager and at over two hundred years of age, he had learned every facet of his abilities. But this was something he had never done before.

Diving downward, he struck the ground with the force of a hundred hydrogen bombs.

**NEXT ISSUE: What surprise is waiting for Wiccan?**

**SUPPLEMENTAL INFO**

**A Look Into the Life of Mindbender**

Palin Starsmore was born to Rachel and Jono Starsmore on November 18th, 2015 in Seattle, Washington at Stark Memorial Hospital. His older sister, Tara, quickly took to her duties as an older sibling and the two gave the staff of the Xavier Institute quite a few headaches. Palin's early years were mostly uneventful and he had as normal a childhood as a child of X-Men could have at Xavier Institute. He manifested his powers only a year after his sister did at the age of 13. The boy's vast psionic powers quickly overwhelmed him and he constantly had to be aided by his mother.

Chamber went to Prof. X wanting genetic locks to be placed on his child for his own sake, but seeing as how the practice had been outlawed Xavier refused. Determined to help his child get a grip on his psionic powers, he relinquished his duties as leader of the Silver Squad of X-men to dedicate all his time to his son. He did this with the assistance of Xavier.

While Palin struggled with his abilities, Tara excelled with hers in ways that none of the other psionics at the Institute thought possible for a girl her age. Xavier predicted in a matter of two years that she would be the equal or better of him and truthfully that scared the death out of him. He consulted with the members of The Illuminati about how to handle the potential threat the child represented.

Palin, unintentionally, felt the plans of The Illuminati in his sleep and warned his sister about what they planned to do. Angry, Tara left the Institute and disappeared completely off the map. No one was able to find her and Palin fell into a deep depression.

After three years of therapy with Dr. Worthington, Palin was finally able to start living a normal life. He began training with Xavier and his father again, but Jono saw that his son was learning more from Xavier and that the two were forming a strong bond. Jealous, but not wanting to admit it, Chamber left the Institute for a job with MI-13. Palin hardly seemed to notice as his training with Xavier grew more intense. He was learning the full extent of his abilities, but more importantly he was learning how to restrain them. With Xavier's help, he felt like he would be able to live a normal life apart from what his parents had been through.

Then unexpectedly, Tara returned…


	12. Chapter 12

**A.R.M.O.R. #12**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 12**

Wiccan did all he could to hold the field separating his team from the vacuum of space. Magma had just melted away a section of the ship, sucking into space all the opposing Kree that had been on the opposite side of his field. But now Wiccan had to hold the field as his team made a hasty retreat out of the hangar. He could feel the pull of space threatening to break his magic and pull him in.

"Come on Wiccan!" Magma shouted from the hangar exit. Everyone had made it to safety.

He couldn't drop the field and run because the pull would be too much and he would be sucked in like the Kree. He couldn't try to run and leave the field up because he wouldn't be able to maintain the needed concentration so the result would be the same. He only had one real option available to him, but he was afraid that it wasn't going to work.

A teleportation spell was one of the first things that Wiccan had assumed Selene had wards up for. It would be the easiest spell to use to get to her so he didn't even make the attempt to try one when they fist arrived. Still, he knew that it was going to come down to this when he agreed to Magma's plan so he had to try.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Wiccan said the necessary incantation in his head and felt the push of wards resisting him. He almost gave up then. It wouldn't' be long before his shield gave way and he was sucked into the void of space. But he refused to go down without a fight. Wiccan dug into the wards even more and suddenly he plopped behind Magma.

She shut the door to the exit immediately and Damien lifted Wiccan to his feet. Shaking the dust out of his cloak, Wiccan said, "The wards gave way."

Magma looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"When I first tried to teleport, Selene's wards stopped me from doing it, but the next time it happened without effort."

Damien saw where Wiccan was going with his line of thinking. "She let those wards down. She wanted you to get out."

Wiccan nodded grimly then looking out at his ten-member team he saw the unasked question. Why? Magma, Moonstone, and Thunderstorm looked concerned for him while Satana and Damien had expressions that screamed suspicion.

Klaw was the first one brave enough to pep up a question. "Why would she let you live? Doesn't strike me as particularly smart."

"I don't have the faintest idea," Wiccan said though possibilities were tumbling around in his mind. Selene had some purpose for him.

Petra interjected and said, "Well let's not assume that she just wants Wiccan. The rest of us could be in her sights as well, but Wiccan was just the first to actually pick up on it."

Her suggestion was every bit logically sound, but it didn't feel right in Wiccan's gut. Maybe it was ego coming into play, but something told him that Selene wanted just him. The question of why still hadn't been answered for Wiccan, but he had a feeling that it would be soon enough. They were invading the woman's ship after all.

Damien looked at the long hallway behind him and said, "Well, we certainly cannot sit around here hashing out the reasons Selene might have taken an interest in Mr. Kaplan."

The animosity in Damien's words was obviously apparent, but Wiccan ignored it. "He's right. We need to keep moving. If Selene wants me she'll just have to come and get me."

A surge of power suddenly flashed across Wiccan's mind. It was like someone ringing the Liberty Bell right against his ear. With wide eyes, he looked at Damien and the man nodded. He had felt it as well. There wasn't any time to warn the rest of them to raise defensive shields before the blue tendrils came down from the roof and up from the floor.

A tendril took each of Satana's appendages and the others watched as her body turned to a dry husk. Magma screamed at the sight and struggled wildly as a tendril wrapped around her throat. It lifted her off of her feet and she struggled for breath. Moonstone fought to avoid the same fate as Satana, but a final tendril took her arm and she suffered as Satana had.

"Help!" Klaw screamed as a tendril tried to take his last arm. He was keeping them back with the sonic weapon that had replaced his hand. His other hand was constricted so he wasn't able to perform any incantations.

Having observed what happened to Satana and Moonstone, Wiccan had an idea what spell it was that they were facing. Clapping his hands together, he summoned forth two black swords in his hands and started using them to cut through the tendrils. "This the Death of Limbs spell!"

Damien was slashing through the tendrils with his sword, Phyrking. At his back was Trapster who was gluing tendrils to the walls and roof. Having heard Wiccan, Damien said, "You think I didn't know that mortal! Find the father tendril!"

"I'm on it!" Wiccan said as he cut Magma loose from the tendril holding her captive. He caught her in his arms and she gave him a terrified hug. Wiccan smiled at the gesture. "Hey I need you. You ok?"

Magma nodded as her body took on a volcanic hue. "More than ok."

Her terror turning to rage, she began to shoot off hot volcanic masses at the tendrils. They seemed to shriek as they melted under Magma's assault. Unfortunately, her attacks were too late to save Thunderstorm, who was snatched at every limb by one of the tendrils. The son of Thor let out a final cry as he dissipated into nothing. A shockwave reverberated out of him that knocked all of his teammates to their feet and sent the tendrils howling back into the walls and roof.

Murmur, last of their ten person troupe, came to Wiccan and helped him to his feet. She was covered in sweat and looked horrified. All she had was one leg left to be snatched before Thunderstorm had died. His death had guaranteed her life. "What was that? I have never seen such a thing."

Damien didn't give Wiccan time to answer. "It is called The Death of Limbs spell. An incantation of instant death that requires all five appendages to be restrained,"

Murmur's expression was now blank and her body unmoving. Magma came to her side and rubbed her shoulders. "It's ok. We made it."

"For now," Damien said sharply. "But we need to keep moving. There is no telling what the others are dealing with."

"We need to split up again," Wiccan said.

The statement earned him a harsh glare from Damien. "And what could have inspired such a stupid sentence?"

Wiccan was firm in his stance. He was the leader here and this was going to go his way. "We need to give Selene as many targets as possible. Tax her concentration."

Magma wasn't sure she wanted to split up considering what she had just been through, but she was willing to hear Wiccan out even if he looked so young. The boy couldn't be a day over seventeen. "So what are we going to do?"

"You and Damien come with me while the others search for this ship's power source. Try to knock it out."

Trapster had no problem following Wiccan's orders. The Field Commander wouldn't have put him in charge if he wasn't a sound choice. "Sounds like a plan to me boss."

"Good. You lead them out. And be careful."

He nodded as he gathered the others to him and they headed away from Wiccan, Damien, and Magma. Billy felt like he was making the right choice. Selene wanted him and the less people he put in harm's way the better. And if they could actually take out the ship's power source then all the better too.

Damien smacked his teeth and folded his arms across his chest. "You must think me a fool boy."

"Look I don't—

"You sent them off to protect them. Nothing more. What makes you think you're so special that Selene wants your personally? You mortals always believe yourselves to be so highly valued."

"It's a feeling and I think it's the right one. My good decisions are why I'm the leader of this attack."

Damien laughed. "You are only leader because the Field Commander comes from your world. Everyone knows it child."

Wiccan got in Damien's face. "I am no one's child. Now you're going to can the back talk or I'll teleport you right into the nearest black hole."

Magma rolled her eyes at the testosterone contest. "Both of you shut up and look around! We just lost three people in a span of minutes! Three! We're not looking too good right now. So drop the egos and let's move."

Wiccan backed away from Damien and shrugged. "You heard the lady."

Damien looked her up and down with distaste. "Indeed."

Magma didn't much care for the look and she honestly favored Wiccan in all of this, but that wasn't going to get them off of this ship alive. They were going to have to depend on each other as much as someone like Damien loathed the idea. Her A.R.M.O.R. had worked with his Project Unicorn on a previous mission and she had experienced firsthand how much he hated the presence of others. But he was effective in combat and she could only hope that would balance out against his unpleasant nature.

Wiccan floated off the ground and zipped past Damien. "Try to keep up."

Damien and Magma ran behind him. Amara kept close to Wiccan while Damien acted like he was taking a leisurely jog. Wiccan didn't look behind him or he might have been annoyed with the lackadaisical attitude of Damien. They moved past a hallway of living quarters and past a few rooms wired with computers. It was only after they passed those that they ran into a wide open room full of dusty books and dried parchments.

"Stop," Wiccan ordered.

Magma and Damien came to a halt. Her eyes darted around wildly looking for enemies. "What? What's wrong?"

"You don't feel it?" Wiccan asked. The power from that room was screaming at him.

Damien didn't think the boy was lying, but he felt nothing. "She must be trying to call out to you."

"Then we need to go in and see what she's trying to say," Wiccan said as he floated towards the room. He knew Magma was hesitant to follow, but Damien was right on his heels. There wasn't any way he was going to allow the young boy to appear braver than himself.

Suddenly, a force rocked the ship and threw Damien to his feet along with Magma. It was as if the ship had been knocked sideways, but Wiccan's floating kept him from experiencing the impact too much. He took no time to look back at his comrades as he entered into the room. The power emanating from it was too much for him to ignore and it stopped him from caring about all others.

Damien watched him enter into the room and saw the metallic door slide shut behind him. It was only then that he and Magma felt the power that Wiccan had. Cold and slimy, it crept through them like ice cold water sliding down your back. It had a stench to it that reeked of magic interested only in the consumption of flesh and souls. It repulsed both Damien and Magma in its inherent evil.

Damien's most pressing question was why it had not had the same effect on Wiccan?'

**=AR=**

**The Garm- Cerebro's Ship**

Shigei, Agasa, and Chival, all of Earth-770, were being so protective of Gaia that it almost made her puke. It was cute in a way, but even cuteness could soon begin to grate on one's nerves. Gaia had reached that point about five minutes ago. The three men were all children of deities and took it upon themselves to protect the only woman in their attack group of twenty. Under any other circumstances, Gaia wouldn't have minded the attention if only to assume herself with Charles getting angry.

"You know you guys don't have to surround me?" Gaia asked as they made their way to the ship's central coolants. Destroying those would help create a chain reaction that would destroy the ship.

Agasa, son of Hera, looked like Gaia had reached out to smack him. "We have our duties as men to make sure that you don't get hurt."

Gaia laughed. "Do you guys have any idea what I can do?"

Shigei, son of Ku, nodded. "Of course. You can manipulate reality itself."

Chival, son of Ptah, joined in. "We know you have great power Gaia. But you are still under our protection."

"Are there any women in your world's A.R.M.O.R.?" Gaia asked with a stifled laugh. Annoying or not, she couldn't help but to be flattered by it. It was like she was a movie star and had her bodyguards.

Agasa was the first to respond. "Emma Frost and she is certifiably mad. Oh and there's Donna Pierce. Just as crazy."

Chival joined in again. "Don't forget Ant-Girl and Blade. Talk about headaches."

All Gaia could do was shake her head and laugh some more. "I take it they don't get this same treatment."

The response was unanimous. "NO!"

There was a charm to the three that Gaia had a hard time denying. All three were good looking and had well chiseled bodies that could grace any magazine cover. Agasa had olive skin and long black hair that stretched down to his back. His eyes were amber and had a piercing quality that screamed intensity, but his personality was anything but. Shigei's short spiky, blonde hair gave off a playful quality and it managed to fit in well with his brown skin. Chival had a complexion like Charles' and hair to match, but his eyes were completely black as were his lips. Still, he had a mysterious allure about him. Like he was an elegant flower that one had to be sure to pluck carefully. Gaia found them to be good company if not a bit too chivalrous for their own good.

**=AR=**

**The Coldwitch**

Wiccan knew that he was alone. He had heard the door shut behind him, but strangely he was not afraid. Truth be told, he found himself comfortable in the currents of power flowing across this room. Dark magic was often misunderstood and taken as automatically evil. It was not the magic that was evil, but only the user. If one approached the darker arts with a pure heart and good intentions then corruption was not a problem. Suggesting that dark magic was the lone source of evil in the magical arts was like blaming a gun for killing someone instead of the person pulling the trigger.

"That is why I wanted to speak with you. You understand."

Billy turned to the sound of the voice and saw a woman step out from behind a stack of books. She had not been there before. His voice was soft, but striking. "Selene."

**NEXT ISSUE: What does Selene want with Wiccan? And who does Gravity bring into the battle?**

**SUPPLEMENTAL INFO**

**The Fault of Earth-97701**

The Fault was created by the Axi-Tun Empire in an attempt to create a massive dimensional gateway. They were hoping to reach out across other dimensions for commerce and turn their empire into a multi-dimensional Babylon. Unfortunately, the experiment failed and a rip across the galaxy was created. Stretching for nearly a light-year, The Fault was considered extremely dangerous by the major powers in the area.

All attempts to heal The Fault failed and it was soon discovered what lay on the other side. The Axi-Tun had created a gateway to a universe ruled by The Dark Phoenix.


	13. Chapter 13

**ARMOR #13**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 13**

Selene walked around Wiccan like an alluring predator. Billy allowed her to get only inches away from him. She smiled at him seductively as she ran one finger down the center of his chest. "You must realize how much potential you have. I can see the ambition burning in your eyes. You want to tear through these books and parchments."

Wiccan wouldn't lie. The books and parchments were of a great curiosity to him. He could only imagine the spells and incantations that Selene had gathered from across this dimension's galaxies. It was a fountain of wealth that he had every intention of pilfering when the opportunity presented itself.

"I take it that you know why I'm here," Wiccan said as Selene continued to pace slowly around him. The lustful power coming off of the woman was more than most men could probably stand, but Wiccan happened to be of a different persuasion. He doubted that would even deter a woman like her.

"I know why you've been sent. But that's not why you're here," Selene said as she spread her arms out and upwards. She looked like a dark queen showing her kingdom to a soon to be loyal subject. "You are a man of knowledge. The pursuit of it comes before all things for you. And you have questions you want to ask me. So relax. I will provide the answers you want."

"Your wards. How did you manage to make them so intricate? I've only come across wards that well knitted a few times before," Wiccan said. What he wasn't saying was that he had never been able to create a ward that strong. When breaking down Selene's, he was simultaneously trying to reverse engineer them in his mind.

Selene stopped her pacing and looked at the boy with a smile worthy of any femme fatale. She had her arms folded under her chest allowing her to push up an already ample bust line. "Of all the things that I thought would first ask I did not think it would be that. It's Axi-Tun magic. Certain sects of their race have dedicated their entire magical studies to the practice."

"My dimension has such a race, but my files don't have much on their magical practices. Why did you tell me that? Do you really think this is going anywhere in your favor?" Wiccan asked a bit angry at the idea that Selene thought he was that gullible to be converted with a few flattering comments and bodily suggestions.

If Selene was insulted by the question, she didn't let it show. Her features portrayed only a powerful need for attraction. Wiccan wondered how many men she had ensnared with her looks and slick words. He wasn't fooled. A woman didn't stand side by side with one of the most ruthless men in this dimension without having quite a streak herself.

"There are things you think you know, but you really are so confused. You believe this to be your alliance's first encounter with The Magus. It is not. What if I told you that your alliance first came to The Magus with an offer?" Selene asked as Wiccan's eyes widened like a fat fish ready to be pulled in. "Like I said, there is much you do not know."

Wiccan had to pull himself together after the revelation. It was not as if he trusted Selene, but the moment he stepped into her presence he had erected a web of truth around himself. He would be able to instantly known the second that Selene was trying to deceive him. She wasn't. "When did they come to him?"

**=AR=**

**The Fault**

**Two Hours Ago**

"Why have you come to me?" The Dark Phoenix asked from her fiery throne. Her voice was passion and rage personified. That voice had conquered an entire universe and only through the efforts of The Argonauts had she been kept from conquering Gravity's universe. They had seen firsthand what her brutal reign wrought to its people.

All the more reason he thought Vulcan was insane for sending him here to risk what he was about to ask. It was strange to look into the eyes of Ororo Munroe, but this wasn't his world's Ororo. She would have never succumbed to such a dark power. "My universe has need of you. Earth faces its death as we speak."

The Dark Phoenix's throne room was just one massive room connected to a massive temple that had been erected on the Moon. The many servants of the woman were versions of Gravity's friends and enemies alike. It was painful to watch his friends, even different versions, trapped in such degrading servitude.

Elegant statues of this universe's ruler lined the sides of the runway leading to her throne. With her immense passion came an immense vanity. Twenty foot long banners with portraits of herself etched into them covered every window. The roof of the thorne room was an intricate stained glass picture of her massacring a group of heroes. Gravity recognized a few.

Every tile in the floor and every brick in the walls was blood red with tiny flickers of blue fire painted into each one. Gravity wondered just how much time that had taken. If someone like Quicksilver was trapped in her servitude hen probably not long at all. He wondered what the penalty for error was.

He watched as she beckoned for The Moon Knight to come to her. She whispered something in his ear and he quickly departed from her like a scared child. Had she broken their minds as well as their bodies? "I have no reason to help our universe other than pure boredom. But I have no taste for combat anymore. Only if it is necessary. So I shall send The Dark Legion."

Vulcan had told The Cosmic Protector to be formal as possible, but the thought of it made him want to gag. What formality did this monster deserve? She had destroyed entire solar systems and broke the backs of trillions. But this was for Earth and he would endure much for her sake. "Thank you your infinitely wise Highness. Your wisdom is never ending."

The Dark Phoenix saw and felt that the words had pained the man. In his own way, the pipsqueak was an elemental like herself so she could tap into him in ways he probably never suspected. But today wasn't the time for such festivities so she would simply enjoy his agony for the time being. "They shall be ready to depart with you in the hour. Treat them well."

**=AR=**

**The Coldwitch**

"The Magus was approached by your alliance at the very beginning of our war with Earth. Then it was just me and Skaar working as his generals. They wanted to provide The Magus with support in his campaign in exchange for getting Mars after it was all over with," Selene said. She saw that Wiccan was attempting to digest it all.

Wiccan knew that again the woman wasn't lying. With information this potent she had no reason to. They couldn't have wanted Mars simply for a place to build a prison. Not to make that kind of deal. Selene was right. There was far more going on here than he knew. "What did they want from it?"

"The Neocounts of Olympus Mons," Selene said and quickly realized from Wiccan's expression that the words held absolutely no meaning for him. It was her fault for assuming that the world from which he hailed had the same horrors as her own. "They're ancient Martians. Locked away in hibernation. The Magus thought freeing them would threaten him."

Pieces of the puzzle were beginning to connect in Wiccan's mind. He didn't like what the picture was beginning to look like, but he couldn't deny what was in front of his face. Wiccan always tried to maintain a certain objectivity about him. "So when The Magus refused to work with them they went to earth?"

"A Century or two later, but yes. I'm not sure why they waited so long to come back, but Earth brought into it. And under the pretenses of prison construction, your alliance was able to excavate the Neocounts. Needless to say, The Magus was furious and began to push his campaign harder. He wanted Earth taken out before your people could use the Neocounts on him."

It all made sense to Wiccan now. Them coming to this dimension was never about protecting the prison because the prison had always been a fringe benefit. The M.D.A. leadership would have probably left this world to rot if Alise had not come asking for help. Them putting it up to a vote was only to guise their deception. Brian was going to have to be told about this.

**=AR=**

**The Pantheon**

Brian knew that he didn't need to be out in the thick of the fight, but he was itching to be there. The role of the general sitting back giving commands didn't sit well with him. It had its perks, but he had too much of a conscience to let others fight while he did not. His mind whirled as he wondered what his team was going through.

No status reports had come in from Wiccan's, Portal's, or Gaia's attack forces. Mindbender and Motormouth were on earth and no one had an idea how that battle was going. He could only hope that these white Gods weren't as fearsome as described by the natives. Dark Angel and her attack group were waiting for Wiccan's to finish their objective.

"The last attack group is getting anxious. They want to launch," Fleet Admiral Banner said. He was in his late forties, but looked like he could be in his early sixties. The stress of his job was apparent to anyone who had an inkling of knowledge about the war, but he also carried another burden. Banner was quietly dying from cancer, but he would see this last battle out.

Brian saw the wear and tear on the man's face. The way he controlled his features spoke of years of well-honed self control. Something a man of his rank and importance would need to have to do his job well. "Tell them that they will have to continue waiting. They're my best bet against The Magus and I'm not going to compromise that."

**=AR=**

**The Coldwitch**

"So who are these Neocounts and why would my people go through such lengths to get them?" Wiccan asked not sure if he even wanted to lump himself in with The M.D.A. right now, but he knew a lot of good men and women in their ranks. They fought for this Earth nobly and not with ill intentions in their heart and he wouldn't separate himself from them.

Selene appeared momentarily distracted and then gave a smug smirk. "Your friends were trying to break through my barrier. I just needed to patch up the holes for a moment. That young woman's magic seems familiar in a way. But as to your question, the Neocounts were the rulers of ancient Mars. They were the planet's foremost super-Martians I suppose you could say."

"The M.D.A. is littered with hundreds of thousands of superhumans. What would these Neocounts have to offer that would make them so valuable?" Wiccan asked. A part of him was excited by the potential answer despite himself. He wondered if it was possible that these Neocounts could be mystical in nature.

That was when they both felt a surge of dark energy alone with every other psi-sensitive in a thousand mile radius. Wiccan knelt over and hurled despite himself. The darkness was corrupting and felt like biting into a rotten apple. Where had a power that rank come from? Standing to his feet and wiping his mouth, he asked, "What was that?"

Selene for the first time in their encounter seemed unnerved. "It can't be. Your allies are insane!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

Another first came when Selene looked at Wiccan in anger. "I had believed The Magus mad when freeing The White Gods, but to bring The Dark Legion…"

More unknown entities yielding more questions. Wiccan was a consumer of knowledge, but this was starting to get ridiculous. "The Dark Legion. What is it?"

"The personal army of The Dark Phoenix. Not of this world, but another's."

Wiccan shook his head. "This war is out of control."

Selene moved close to him agan and her lips were nearly on his face. "That is why I need you. Until you I have not met anyone I thought cold help me topple The Magus. Join with me and we'll end this madness."

Wiccan smiled. "And then we'll rule it all?"

"Yes together as King and Queen."

A look of pained shock crossed Selene's face as Wiccan's black knife drove into her stomach. He twisted the blade violently and caused her to cry out. Leaning even closer to the witch's face, he said, "Too bad I'm gay."

Black veins rippled across her body as the power in Wiccan's knife sapped her very essence. He had planned an attack for every one of The Magus' generals before he had even left. This was his attack for Selene. He had reach an archival record that showed Selene being fell by a blade on Earth-616. That event led him to try a similar strategy here, but this knife was imbued with the spirit of a Paaf, a demon of Earth-1983. The demonic soul sapped on someone as drenched in dark magic as Selene.

It wasn't until she fell to the floor like an empty husk that Wiccan yanked his knife loose. Looking around at the room full of books and parchments, he smiled. He was about to be a kid in the candy store. Then he would do what he came here for.

**=AR=**

**The Stormrider**

Like so many others, The Magus hd also felt the dark power that had entered into the battlefield. He smiled to himself. The sheep were starting to grow fangs it seemed. He would have to match their boldness.

Captain Vinorsa Iodirr stood at his command station below the throne of his unwanted master. The news of Hala's devastation and capture had rocked every Kree in The Magus' service. But that only steeled their resolve to win here. A victory on Earth was the only way to ensure that Hala could be retaken and its former glory restored. Vinorsa loathed to think about the horrors that awaited them upon their return. The Shi'ar would not be kind.

His thoughts were suddenly broken by a harsh command from The Magus. "Captain! Tell Arides to unleash The Accusers. If it is war that Earth truly wants then I shall be a gracious guest."

It was an order that the Captain did not want to belay. The Accusers were one of the last bit of glory that The Kree people had and The Magus was about to waste them in this battle. He would have no strategy for them. They would just be thrown into the onslaught and expected to make their own way to survive. An Accuser was a true warrior so they would not complain, but Vinorsa imagined that they could not be happy with their leadership.

"Your will be done Magus," the Kree said as convincingly as he could muster.

**NEXT ISSUE: The Dark Legion faces off against The Accusers!**

**SUPPLEMENTAL INFO**

**The Dark Legion**

They are the enforcers of The Dark Phoenix's law. Shortly after her universal reign was complete, she gathered the universe's most vile criminals onto one planet. Psycopaths, murderers, would be dictators, racketeers, and plunderers made up the assortment of sentient entities she had collected. Faced with agonizing death these criminals pledged their fealty to The Dark Phoenix. And with her power she transformed them into a dark elemental army each one wielding a different element. Not just of nature though, but encompassing the elements making up the universe itself.


	14. Chapter 14

**ARMOR #14**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 14**

**The Coldwitch**

**Command Deck**

A battered and bruised Lady Ororo walked with a limp to the ship's navigation controls. She was all that remained of her team after they had encountered a group of ravenous goblins in another part of the ship. They had proven harder to banish than any of them anticipated and Lady Ororo had survived the encounter mostly by luck.

Before she could reach the controls, fatigue set in and she collapsed. Right in the nick of time, Wiccan appeared out of thin air and caught the woman in his arms. "Easy Ororo. I got you."

She looked up half delirious and smiled at the man. "It is good to see you still alive."

Wiccan returned the expression and floated a hand over Ororo's face. "Injuries gained may no longer be maintained."

A white light flashed across Ororo's body and the injuries she had received were no more. The only evidence of her having been in any kind of skirmish was her damaged clothing. Wiccan helped her to her feet and she said, "Thank you. I see you survived your encounter with Selene."

"Her energy signature that obvious?"

"It's as dark as the black hole. Not hard to miss," Lady Ororo said as she glided across the floor to the ship's navigation systems. "Now we have to finish the second part of our mission."

Damien and Magma walked into the bay. He spared only a glance for Wiccan and said, "I couldn't agree more."

Magma walked over to Wiccan and unexpectedly hugged him. "I thought you were dead! You should have let us know you were alive."

"No time. We have to get this ship on a crash course."

"It's already done," Lady Ororo said as she backed away from the controls. "We need to let any other survivors know to get out of here."

Wiccan backed away from all of them and said, "You all do that. I have somewhere else I need to be."

And with that, Wiccan vanished like a wisp of smoke.

**=AR=**

**The Lonely Hunter**

**Central Computer Core**

Portal was creating as many random portals as he could muster to catch the fire coming from the Kree rifles on all sides. The core was seated in a centralized location so hacking into it meant exposing themselves on all sides. Forge was busy trying to tap into the core so he need as much cover and time as possible.

Phobia was to Portal's back and was firing shots from her own rifle to help reduce the incoming fire. She looked too short and too petite to carry a rifle, but the silver-haired woman was handling it well. "We don't have all day here Forge! Hurry it up!"

Forge didn't' respond, but Portal did. "He wouldn't have to be here at all if your world had been able to keep their war to themselves!"

Phobia fired a shot towards the roof and struck a jetpack equipped Kree in the head. "Personally, I would have preferred The M.D.A. kept their noses out of this, but since you all decided to do otherwise you're at least going to do the job right."

"Hey don't lump me in with them!"

"Oh the double standard," Phobia laughed. "This is "my world" but you're not part of The M.D.A."

Daken leapt over the both of them into a squad of approaching Kree soldiers. He cut through them with an artful grace and picked up two grenades off the dead soldiers. Rolling them to one of the entrances, he successfully stopped another few dozen Kree from entering into the fray. Turning back to the two, he said with all a gentleman's charm, "Can we save the nip napping till we've actually won?"

Portal pointed a thumb at Phobia and said, "She started it!"

Phobia rolled her eyes. The childish remark wasn't even worth a response from her.

"I'm in!" Forge exclaimed as he began to type more furiously than he had before, if such a thing was possible. "I'm setting the navigation systems to go offline in two minutes. It'll take me a bit longer to get to more critical systems."

"Just save the oxygen till we get off this hunk of metal ok?" Surge asked. She already could hardly breathe in this thing and the last thought she needed was suffocating out in space.

Paper Doll quickly cut out a miniature sword from one of her enchanted sheets of paper and held it in her hand until it became a real weapon. "We may have bigger problems people."

Phobia aimed her gun on the new entries into the battle and Portal cursed his luck. The woman decked out in what looked like a blue and black ninja suit was none other than Frostsword. And if one needed further evidence of her identity they need only pay attention to her icy hair and the large blade of ice attached to her back. The man behind her wore an all black tuxedo with red spider cufflinks and a red cane to his accessories.

"Frostsword and Red Tarantula," Phobia said. She wasn't sure who among them knew what. "We need to watch our step."

"Yea," Portal agreed. "My first step should have been to tell Brian to shove this mission up his—

**=AR=**

**Cairo, Egypt **

Assets were hard to take account of in the midst of battle, but Fire Mage knew that Mindbender was one of them. He had made Mulzeta into a vegetable and it was enough power to make Death take notice. The Horsemen was usually too aloof to make commentary on another. That alone let the commander of X-Force know she was looking at a gem.

"Do you think you can take out another one of those creeps?" Fire Mage asked for the second time. Attacking Mulzeta had obviously fatigued the young man, but he wasn't about to abandon the fight. He had already made it clear to Fire Mage.

Barely above a whisper, Palin said, "Get me by one."

Fire Mage looked above her and saw Josiah Rage locked in a desperate fight with Tabir. It wouldn't' be long before those claws ripped into him. Hefting Palin onto her back, she created streams of fire from her hands and feet that flew her up. She sailed over Tabir and landed a few feet away from him. Quickly, she thrust her hands up and fired two streams of fire into Tabir's face. She manipulated the fire until it was spinning around the White God in a cyclone.

"Now kid! Hit him!"

Palin looked up like a weak drug addict and zeroed his concentration in on Tabir. Green and pink energy flickered out of Palin' eyes as he tried to subject The white God to the full force of his abilities. Mindbender wouldn't admit it, but he was exhausted. All his life he had been taught to restrain his powers and no being asked to cut them loose was draining. But he wasn't going to back down from the task. Not now.

Exerting all the effort he could, Mindbender skirted the mental defenses of Tabir and began to rip through them like a tornado across a picket fence. But soon that torrent came to a grinding halt as Mindbender's power fizzled out. He could no more damage. Exhausted, he fell into the arms of Fire Mage.

For the moment, Tabir was injured and unable to make a move. While Palin's attack had not lasted long, it did enough. Fire Mage looked out over the roof and yelled, "Sergeant Cole!"

A few seconds and a flash of pink light later, a burly man was standing behind her. Carrying Mindbender in her arms, she stood to her feet and handed the unconscious mutant to him. "Get him out of here!"

"You sir?"

Fire Mage waved the soldier off dismissively. I'm fine. Now go."

Cole nodded and departed with mindbender. He knew better than to ask a second time. Fire Mage's name represented more than just her powers. The woman's temper was legendary.

"You should have got out of dodge too," Josiah said as he walked with a slight limp towards the X-Force commander. Tabir had slashed across his top thigh and left a nasty wound that was starting to bubble blue pus.

"You need to get that looked at.

Josiah grimaced at the suggestion. "And you need to get your head examined staying p here. Your boy has ticked Tabir off.

The White God finally stirred and interlocked its claws across its monstrous face. The natural weapons began to shimmer as a low groan rumbled from Tabir. "Foolish mortals. You have earned our wrath and now you shall face our armies."

Tabir threw his head back and white light erupted from his mouth. It was the same for all The White Gods across the wrecked city, even the comatose Mulzeta. The light tore into the sky and a thousand thousand cackles could be heard within it. It was a sea of malevolent violence ready to come pouring down on them all. Every soldier on the battlefield felt the intense hate emanating from the air above.

Josiah did his best to even out his weight on his legs, but to little success. He didn't like the idea of going into this injured. "We're in for it now."

"Tell me about it. Let's hope these Horsemen and Sentinels can live up to their reputations."

**=AR=**

**Uranus Orbit**

Tyrusa Zane had been a First Kill in The Dark Legion since Her Exalted Majesty came to rule the universe. He would walk wherever The Great Phoenix commanded him to walk and he could destroy whoever she told him to destroy. It had been The Holy Lady that had saved his world from the brink of extinction. All she asked of his people was servitude. A small price to pay in the face of everlasting doom.

Her Immolated Holiness had granted his people, the Contraxians, dark powers and fashioned them into the deadliest warriors his universe had ever seen. They had been given the immense opportunity carry Her Exalted Majesty's will across the universe with the original members of The Dark Legion. They showed all those who would not listen the error of their ways. Eventually, all came to understand just how awesome and tremendous the holy will of The Great Phoenix was. Tyrusa had been humbled to play a part in it.

Now they had been instructed to travel to another universe with a man called Gravity to help his earth claim victory. There were men and women of Earth amongst The Dark Legion to Tyrusa's recollection. Earth would always be a place of great holiness for it was where The Queen of Elements had come forth into her path of destined rule. Protecting even another version of it would be a most worthy honor. Standing in the way of The Dark Legion claiming victory was the army of The Magus. The feeble dictator had thought to send a n army of Accusers against them.

"For Her Exalted Majesty, the ruler of all things good and strong we fight!" Tyrusa said in the midst of space as he rose up his black skull staff. "These heathens think to stand against the power and strength of Her Isolated Holiness. Let us show them how wrong they are!"

A chorus of weapons rose up as one in the silent vacuum of space. Gravity shivered a bit at the sight. He really hoped that Vulcan knew what he was doing by inviting these people into eh war. There was one thing he couldn't deny though. They looked prime and ready for a fight and looking at the mass of Accusers coming towards then, it was going to be a bloody one.

Turning to Tyrusa, Gravity said, "I'll give your people an opening, but I suggest you attack right now."

The leader of The Dark Legion smiled at Greg with oozing black teeth. He turned to his troops and yelled, "You heard him. ATTACK!"

The soldiers of The Dark Legion propelled themselves forward with a speed that Gravity had not anticipated. Every one of them flew through space at speeds above that of sound and each was pounced on an Accuser before Gravity had time to properly react. Staring in awe of the ravenous, speedy attack, Gravity said, "Yea. Definitely glad they're on our side. 

Clasping his hands in front of him, Gravity reached out to the Null Hammers that every Accuser carried and gave them the weight of a small fighter. Though able to carry the burden, the Accusers were forced to move much more sluggishly if they wanted to use their weapons. May of them opted to drop their hammers and engage The Dark Legion with their fists. It was a sea of green and black that soon was starting to run into a field of red and white as the blood of each side was spilled.

But The Dark Legion was unyielding. Gravity witnessed a soldier with only one limb left still managing to choke the life out of a fully function Accuser. He watched another entrap a dozen Accusers in a giant water bubble and drown them all. Yet another cut down Accuser after Accuser with body exploding lightning. They were horrifically persistent and Gravity felt fear in the pit of his stomach. He was beginning to doubt Vulcan's wisdom in bringing them here.

"You have brought great evil to your world."

Turning his head slightly, Gravity saw Dazzler out of the corner of his eye. He didn't have time to give the Head his full attention. Al his focus was on giving The Dark Legion a quick sweep through the Accusers, but they weren't the Kree's finest without reason. "Yea if you went out there and helped a bit we could send them back home sooner."

"I did not know that your desperation knew such ends. You have fixed her eyes up n this world and it will not be long before she decides to take it for herself."

Gravity didn't want to hear what Dazzler had to say. Partly, because he was trying to concentrate and was starting to lose focus. But the bigger part of him didn't want to hear because of the truth in her words. Maybe they had set The Dark Phoenix on a course straight for their universe. Greg didn't want to think he had a role to play in such a horrible event and he thought of it made him sick to his stomach.

Dazzler, Herald of Galactus, floated over the Argonaut and left with one parting warning before heading into the fray, "You may want to make peace with The Magus for he shall pale in comparison to The Dark Phoenix."

**NEXT ISSUE: Portal and his people face off against Frostsword. Dark Angel and The Human Blizzard move against The Magus himself while in Cairo the armies of The White Gods come forth! **

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

**No supplemental information this time. I figured I'd make some sort of comment considering how long this story has been going on at this time. Never did I imagine this first arc being anywhere near as huge as it has become. It's really epic and I say that with only a smidgeon of bias. I can honestly say though it is the first time I've written a big story like this and didn't really plan on it being this big. At this point, I'm sure I could find some way to rush a conclusion, but I don't think that would do these characters justice. Or you, the reader for that matter. So often writers when they build up big stories get intimidated or bored with the length so they rush to a conclusion. I refuse I say! I will carry this out until it reaches a viable, strong conclusion. I will give it as much respect as I gave the build up.**

**So let the war continue. **


	15. Chapter 15

**ARMOR #15**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 15**

**The Lonely Hunter**

**Central Computer Core**

Phobia tossed a gun to Portal and said, "You might need this."

"Yea. I bet," Portal said as a hail of Kree fire still fell around them. He was adjusting and creating portals to catch he rifle fire coming from their aggressors. The portals lead to other universes and Portal really had no idea what those universes were. All he knew was that he wasn't going to get his head taken off today.

Frostsword charged at A.R.M.O.R. attack group with her large ice sword in one hand and a clunky blue pistol in the other. Red Tarantula leaped into the air over her and landed right by Forge. He raised his red cane into the air to strike the man across the head, but his blow was blocked by the armor on Surge's forearms. An electrical blast shot out from the woman's chest and propelled Red Tarantula across the room and sent him ramming into a group of Kree soldiers like they were bowling pins.

Paper Doll's sword clashed with Frostsword's and the seemed momentarily to be at a stalemate. The Magus' general pointed her pistol at the woman, but had it kicked out of her hand by Daken. He tried to slash the woman across the chest, but she deftly dodged it by dropping to her knees and kicking his feet out from under him. Pulling back her weapon, Frostsword spun around and made a deep cut into Paper Doll's thigh.

The how of pain from Paper Doll made it to Phobia's ears, but she was too busy with her rifle trying to keep them from being sniped by Kree soldiers. Before she was put on court martial, she had been X-Force's best sharpshooter. It had been a while since she had been able to put those skills to use, but fortunately she didn't seem too rusty. Carefully and quickly, she aimed her rifle between the eyes of one Kree soldier and only a few seconds later did the same to another. But the soldiers were still pouring in.

She couldn't help but to wonder what the other attack groups were doing? Had Swordsman and the others been captured? Or did Frostsword just have that many soldiers to throw at them? Either way, Phobia knew that something was going to have to break soon. The Kree Soldiers were going to overwhelm them if Frostsword didn't cut them all to pieces first.

"These guys are like roaches," Portal complained as he had to create more portals to try and absorb the blasts of the Kree guns. "This is not going to work."

"Navigational systems offline," Forge said. "Give me a minute more and I'll have the whole ship under my control."

That was when he noticed the little red spider crawling up his hand. Before he could swat it away it delivered the tiniest pinch. Forge lifted up his hand and clutched it as a searing pain coursed through it and up his arm. As the pain traveled into his chest, Forge saw dozens more of the tiny red spiders moving over the computer and towards him. He quickly backpedaled from the console and into the path of Frostsword's blade as she was trying to cut into Daken. Unintentionally, the blade sliced through Forge's ribs and into his lung.

Eyes rolling into the back of his head, Forge fell to the ground barely clinging to life. It wouldn't be long before he was dead. Daken could smell the blood flowing freely from his side and hear the slow beating of his heart. Letting loose a feral roar, Daken charged at Frostsword only to be shot in the face with her pistol. The blast entrapped the mutant's head in a solid block of ice. He fell to the ground and his body began to twitch wildly as it struggled for oxygen.

Only a few feet away, red spiders crawled in a steady stream out of Red Tarantula's cane. He stood to his feet, singed from surge's attack, but still maintaining a debonair wager. Dusting a few pieces of burnt fabric off his shoulder, the man smiled at Surge who looked like she was itching to knock him back again. "Sweetheart, consider that your freebie."

_Bind his eyes_

_Bind his mouth_

_Leave him nothing_

_But a doubt_

Only Surge heard the chant over the cacophony of rifle blasts, but it was obvious that something had taken place as Red Tarantula was trying to call out to someone, but nothing came from his mouth. He dropped his cane and began to spin around wildly, bumping into soldiers. Then erratic streams of red webbing erupted from his hands and began to coat the Kree around them causing them to misfire. They were now beginning to move around as wildly as him as they struggled to remove the burning webbing from their bodies.

Surge smirked as a large ball of electrical power formed in her hand. "Oh not your sweetheart.

The ball struck Red Tarantula in the back with the force of five simultaneous lightning strikes. Discharge from the blast spread from his body and into other soldiers nearby him. When all was said and done, there were a t least five charred bodies from what Surge could count.

"Surge! Watch your back!"

Noriko turned to the sound of Phobia's voice with a triumphant smile only to have I turn into a pained gasp as Frostsword's blade drove into her stomach. The force of ht attack was enough to lift Surge off of her feet and as her body slide down the icy blade, Frostsword said, "He said that was your freebie."

"And that was yours," Wiccan said as he appeared out of a plume of black smoke. In his hand was a long black sword encrusted with circular, golden diamonds. He lifted the sword into the air and said, "Invitarium fyro!"

A stream of power that was a mix of green fire and blue lightning ripped out of the sword's tipped and soared at Frostsword. She dropped her weapon and dove out of the way of the attack. The general struck the ground hard and landed awkwardly on her shoulder, dislocating it. She cried out in pain from her injury and then in horror as the oft-colored flame/lightning hybrid turned in the air and came right for her. Her screams were soon muffled as the mystic power shoved its way down her throat. Wiccan's attack scoured her organs and sent her body into wild convulsions as the electricity wreaked havoc across her nervous system. It wasn't long before the general of Magus was a burn out husk.

Wiccan rushed over to Surge and saw that she was too far gone for his magic to be able to do anything to save her. At least the magic that would be considered scrupulous by his peers. There were other ways, but he couldn't afford to indulge in those. So he closed Surge's eyes and hoped her spirit rested in a better plane of existence. The Kree soldiers had all but run away once they saw that Red Tarantula and Frostsword were both dead.

"Never thought I would be so happy to see a little punk like you," Portal said as he was finally able to close all of the portals he had opened. It had taken a lot out evidenced by the fact his shirt was completely drenched with sweat.

Phobia didn't quite express her gratitude. "Aren't you supposed to be on Selene's ship?

"It's on crash course for The Magus's as we speak," Wiccan said and then to Portal," Don't get too happy about me saving your butt. I have a vested interest in you staying alive and nothing more."

At that point, Portal could have cared less. "As long as I'm in one piece it's all good with me. So let's get out of here."

Wiccan took a deep breath. It was akin to the breaths runners took after having endured a long race. "Give me a second. Despite what you probably think, magic does take a toll on its user."

Phobia's sympathy was limited. "We might not have a second. Just because the Kree skittered out of here when you offed their boss doesn't mean they might not build up some courage again."

"And with this ship's navigational systems offline we're bound to crash into something sooner rather than later," Portal added. He hoped the other groups were able to find a way off of the ship, but frankly he was mainly concerned with himself. Gaia was waiting for him.

Wiccan looked at the two and grimaced for a moment. "Fine. I swear I'm paying a nice long visit to a Jacuzzi after this."

Stretching his arms out, Wiccan enveloped all three of them in a black plume of smoke and they were gone.

**=AR=**

**The Pantheon**

Admiral Banner looked at his monitors and said to Brian, I think your people pulled off their mission on The Coldwitch."

Brian smiled, "So we're looking at a collision?"

"In exactly ten seconds. The Coldwitch will ram into The Stormrider."

Everyone on the ship watched the battle outside with baited breath until they saw the brilliant explosion of the two ships colliding into one another. A cheer went up from the entire bridge crew and even Brian couldn't' help but to give a cheer. Something was going right for them. Then a sobering through hit him. Had Wiccan and the others got out in time? He could only hope so.

Admiral Banner was still looking at his monitors and had not joined in with the rest of the crew's celebrating. Brian knew something had happened. "What's wrong?"

"Admiral Yashida's ship has been destroyed."

Brian closed his eyes for a moment and cursed their lopsided fortune. It had been Yashida who had been keeping their right from being flanked. "We'll have to make adjustments, but first inform the last attack group that they have permission to engage. Then tell The Heralds we are going to need them to pick up Yashida's role as best as possible."

**=AR=**

**The Pantheon**

**Hangar Deck**

Dark Angel paced back and forth in front of The Human Blizzard. Jonas wasn't annoyed by it because he had long since disconnected from human emotion thought he still liked to observe it. It kept the few traces of humanity and emotion in him alive. And for reasons he couldn't quite understand, that was important to Jonas.

When are they going o let us out of here?" Dark Angel asked to no one in particular. "We've been copped up in here since the fight started."

Cyclone of Earth-8871 heard Dark Angel talking to herself and said, "If your friend succeeds then we'll get our chance. Why don't you sit a seat and stay tight? We can't afford to have you exhausted by the time we get out there."

"I'll be fine. I'll pass from boredom before then."

::THIS IS ADMIRAL BANNER REPEAT. THIS IS ADMIRAL BANNER. ALL MEMBERS OF THE MAGUS ATTACK GROUP HAVE BEEN ORDERED TO DEPLOY. REPEAT. YOU ARE AUTHORIZED TO DEPLOY::

Dark Angel smiled at The Human Blizzard, "Looks like my prayers were answered."

**=AR=**

**Cairo, Egypt**

Everyone watched as the white light from the bodies of Deyunja, Tabir, Mulzata, and Awjula ripped into the sky. Fire mage and Josiah knew what was about come next and it was to make their battle here that much more difficult. Mindbender hap proven that one of them could be hurt and now they were calling their armies to the battle. Fire Mage new about eh armies they commanded, but had hoped The White God's arrogance would keep them from being summoned. That hope was now dwindled to absolutely nothing.

Out of burnt and broken cars there w scattered around the city rose up the Vilelyn of Awjalu. They broke through the metal with their tremendous strength. Each of them stood at six feet and had mouths dripping over with purple poison. They wore white cloaks trimmed in gold, which contrasted sharply against the sickening bat-like wings that exploded from their backs. In their hands they carried sharp diamond scimitars that were more than ready to do the will of their master.

From the market stands came forth The Grimeak of The Vanished Valley. They had scaly black heads that were akin to a tiger and muscular torsos littered with red quills. Four long tails protruded from their backs and each one ended in a sharp, curved blade of blue bone. Their feet were here-pronged much like the diamonds of Earth and allowed The Grimeak t propel themselves to impressive heights. They too were ready to rain death upon those who would propose The White Gods.

Carried in the arms of every Grimeak was a Lady of the Rotting Hand. The playfully leaped out of their comrade's arms and onto the ground. All were once beautiful women and their body shapes showed it, but where there was once beautiful skin there was not white, rotting flesh. Where there had once been soulful eyes now stood black abysses. In the place of kissable lips were rotting sores that broke away in places to reveal stained , green teeth.

On the outskirts of Cairo rose The Forest Dancers. They wore white cloaks that had the texture of bark and had stringy, green hair that smelled like fresh grass. Each one had skin that was a different hue of green and they clasped their hands in front of them like holy priests as they walked into the city. Their keeper had called for them and they were going to do his will.

When the last of the armies of The White Gods had been summoned, the lights in the sky vanished and Fire Mage said to her old friend, Josiah, "We're in trouble."

"Think that's a bit of an understatement."

"Ahh bite me."

Josiah grinned. "So I'm thinking this is going to be just like Fromme VII."

"If we're lucky," Fire mage said as she charged at Tabir, He entire body was coated in searing hot flame.

Josiah followed behind her. Energy blades came out of two large bracelets and in each hand he carried a thin pistol. Even though the odds against them were even higher Josiah couldn't help but to feel confident. He worked best under pressure.

**=AR=**

**Earth-181203 **

Prelate Darkstar opened the door to the Red Room and saw Noh-Varr locked in combat against Vermin, Metallica, and Negasonic. The three Prelates had been training intensely with Onslaught' protégé or the past three days. Noh-Varr had demanded that he personally train with every Prelate being assigned to him for the coming campaign. Darkstar had already been through her three days of training with him and it was one of the most exhilarating things she had ever experienced.

Noh-Varr was such a raw, primal being. He was rude and coarse, but Laynia loved that about him. The alien managed to be devastatingly annoying and attractive all at once. His abrupt manner would translate well into his leadership role, Darkstar thought.

Onslaught was finally preparing to expand his empire beyond this world. He had spied a universe most interesting to him. It was ruled by a creature called The Dark Phoenix.

**NEXT ISSUE: Dark Angel and the others find themselves face to face with The Magus. And Gaia's team runs right smack into Cerebro.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

**So this battle is still raging. I can't believe it. Did you like what you saw at the end there? I'm sure everyone was able to put two and two together. No that's not going to be directly dealt with in this arc. It's a hint of things to come. Stuff like that is what I love about this series.**

**So send me some emails or something. Let me know which denizen of Earth-97701 are you enjoying the most so far. Alise? Amiri? Vulcan? Let me know. It'll be like music to my ears.**

**Respect and love,**

**-Brent**


	16. Chapter 16

**A.R.M.O.R. #16**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 16**

**Cairo, Egypt**

Moonstar felt in paradise amongst this battlefield. As the Horsemen of War, it was her duty and pleasure to take part in whatever battle was near her. The will of Apocalypse demanded such and she took to her duties with tremendous vigor. That drive is what pushed her to find pretty that she alone could destroy. So she ran to a part of the city where her allies were scarce and she would be able to cause the most damage.

She stood now in front of what was once a pristine orphanage painted in reds and browns, but now it barely stood up on its foundation. The Grimeak had taken to rummaging through it looking for whatever citizens they could feast on. Standing outside of the building, War cried out, "Come and find prey with a bit more bite."

It wasn't long after the proclamation was made that dozens of The Grimeak crawled out of the building. Their three-pronged feet crushed the earth beneath them leaving footprints wherever they stepped. The creatures' arms dragged along the ground like dead weight, but War knew that it was anything but. She would have to be careful about engaging these creatures in close quarters. If the arms of clawed feet didn't rend he flesh then the four wicked tails could. And if t al else, the creatures black scales looked e rough enough to draw blood.

Still, War felt exhilaration surge through her as the creatures gathered in front of the orphanage by the dozens. She knew that it this wasn't all The Grimeak in the city, but the Horsemen preferred to imagine that this was it. Her against the whole of a White God's army. It was truly a battle the master would have approved of. If only he could have been here to pay witness to the glory of it. Yes, that was the greatest tragedy in all of this. Apocalypse deserved to play a hand in the grand battle for Earth's fate.

Swords of pure mental energy formed in war's hands. The weapons shimmered pink and were weightless in the hands of the Horsemen. When she first learned the art of manipulating her abilities into manifesting malleable mental energy, the things she created only hurt individuals on an astral level. Upon being taken under her master's wing, she learned how to harm on the physical level as well. And her illusions with enough concentration…stopped being illusions altogether.

And s she concentrated and as she did so a pack of wild wolves appeared behind her. They were six in number and more askin to cows in size than wolves. The creatures were the stuff of nightmares and they were going to be war's soldiers.

Preparing for the coming blood lust, Moonstar crouched low and said, "For Apocalypse I give this sacrifice."

And they charged.

**=AR=**

**Uranus Orbit**

The explosion of Selene's ship crashing into The Magus' was indeed a brilliant one and rocked the entire battlefield. Almost as much as the large explosion on Uranus' surface. Morg saw the explosion and knew that it would not be enough to destroy The Magus. He broke away from his fellow Heralds despite their protests and made his way to the explosion. With his body spanning axe in hand, Morg searched through the fiery wreckage of the collided ships like a stalking tiger.

But today would not be his day to be the predator. A purple hand clenched itself around Morg's neck and its fingers grew to achieve a full grip. The herald felt a tremendous cold to match the plains of Devlin XXI traveling through his body. He knew who had ambushed him and despite the inner chill, managed to utter it. "Magus."

"Were you looking for me Morg? How incredibly foolish to do so alone," the Magus said as he prepared to crush the Herald's neck. He had grown sick of all the interference in this battle. If not for The Heralds and the other resources called upon by Earth, the Sol System would already be his. He would make Morg the first example of his wrath.

"Hardly alone," Dark Angel said as her attack group came up on The Magus' left side and she unleashed a blast of white cosmic energy at him. The Human Blizzard added in his own power as two powerful streams of cooling might erupted from his palms.

The two attacks struck The Magus in the face and sent him reeling away from Morg. Half of his face had been frozen solid and all of his hair had been blown away by the assault. He threw out an arm at his assailants and wildly sent out a wave of bubbly black cosmic force. Morg flew in front of Dark Angel and The Human Blizzard, deflecting the attack with his axe.

With an arrogant, malicious grin, Morg said, "Come now Magus. Surely, you have more to offer than that."

Three versions of Shalla-Bal flew over The Magus and coated the tyrant in a green gas that quickly turned acidic. The dictator's flesh was turned to goop and his bones were melted to slush, but everyone knew better than to think he was dead. Hurt, yes, but hardly dead. Before the gas had completely dissipated The Magus had reformed himself. His wounds appeared to be gone, but he holed tired.

"I have never encountered so many who wanted an early grave," The Magus said.

A version of Valkyrie, garbed in red and black, stood at Dark Angel's side. In her hand was a black hammer with the face of Odin engraved in it. "You will be handing out death to no one else fiend. Have at thee!"

**=AR=**

**The Garm- Cerebro's Ship**

Gaia was in the company of three demi-gods as they fought off the hard-light constructs of Cerebro in The Garm's central coolant system. There was Agasa, son of Hera. Then came Shigei, son of the Hawaiian war god Ku and Chival, son of Ptah. They were Gaia's companions in battle and had so far done all in their power to keep her out of harm's way. The protection was slightly nerve wracking for the young woman as she was positive she was more powerful than all of them.

Still, it was interesting to watch the demi-gods in combat. They were like Fluid dancers as they cut through the constructs of mutants from the 20th and early 21st century. Gaia's time and probably the three men's time as well, but they were nearly two centuries ahead here on Earth-97701. Of course there were minor differences here and there. Her world had no versions of Agasa, Shigei, or Chival. Three more hunks was something her world could probably handle doing without, but Gaia wouldn't mind a few more additions.

Agasa had olive skin and silky black hair that stretched down to his back. He wielded a blue diamond sword that matched the dragon bangles wrapped around his wrist. A long the back of his black tunic, the tip of a blue dragon tattoo poked out into his neck. His eyes were amber and had a piercing quality that screamed intensity, but his personality was anything but.

Shigei's short spiky, blonde hair gave off a playful quality and it managed to fit in well with his brown skin. He had a golden baton blade in each hand that he whirled and cut with expertise. The demi-god's large black boots were trimmed in gold as well as his translucent white tunic. The man's rippled chest clung tightly to the thin fabric as he bobbed and weaved through Cerebro's creations. It was like watching a frantically beautiful child at a playground.

Chival had a brick red complexion and jet black hair that men twice his age would kill to have, but his eyes were completely black without pupils and his lips looked like they had been filled with ink. It was strikingly odd appearance but he still managed to be attractive. There was a hunger behind those eyes that made a woman wonder exactly what it was that he craved for.

Chival's axe clashed with the staff of a construct of Callisto. His weapon cleaved the staff in half and he cut into her cranium. The construct dissipated in a trickling shower of light. He quickly dodged the blast of Havok construct and slashed it across the throat. "They're so life like. It's hard of them of them as fake.

"I'm sure Cerebro is counting on that, "Gaia said as reality altering, rainbow colored waves of energy emanated outwards from her hands. They made contact with a group of constructs and turned them all to stone. She had learned more control over her powers since joining A.R.M.O.R. but it was nowhere near to the point where she knew what she could be. At her fingertips was the ability to alter any and everything she wanted, but it was all about control. If she exerted herself too hard, she had no control over what could happen. It was a frustrating prospect for the young woman.

Shigei stabbed one of his blades into the stomach of a Shadowcat construct. "Ahh well I never really cared for the X-Men anyway!"

"Never got the chance to know them," Gaia said she blew a hole into the chest of a Mimic construct. She turned to Shigei and smiled. "So I'm not attached."

"Trying to make me fall in love?" Shigei playfully asked with wink as he dodged the psi-blade of Psylocke construct. The blade rushed by the demi-god's face and he thought it might have been hot, but there was no temperature to be felt. He grabbed the construct's wrist and slung her into the path of Gaia, who vaporized her with a single blast.

"Nice little toss there," Gaia said as she caused the ground to rise up around three other constructs and swallow them whole. They had been teleported to parts unknown and truthfully Gaia was none too concerned where it was. These creatures weren't real and she wasn't going to give them the time of day.

Agasa rolled in front of Gaia and blocked the blast of a Cyclops construct with his sword. Gaia shook her head because she could have easily dispelled the attack. Just to prove her point, she blew a kiss at the Cyclops construct and watched it explode into a bunch of orange butterflies. She patted the demi-god on the shoulder and said, "See? Not so helpless."

"Maybe not, but I won't let you get hurt if I can help it."

Humanoid subjects, surrender now of r force me to destroy you.

The A.R.M.O.R. agents turned to see that they were facing Magus' general, Cerebro. He stood at nearly seven feet and was as wide as three men. Blinking white nodes of varying sizes covered the robot's brown and beige metal plates. A blank face with two singular white eyes was staring at the group of four. Surrender now.

Chival swung his axe over his shoulder. "Fat chance."

Shigei joined the chorus. "Come over and make us."

Gaia stepped in front of the three men and telekinetically ripped the robot to pieces. Each piece she turned into bunny and they scurried out of the room. Turning back to eh demi-gods she shrugged. "Sorry to make that anti-climatic."

Shigei laughed. "Works for me. Better than what Ant-Girl could pull off."

Chival playfully shivered. "Just don't let her hear you say that."

**=AR=**

**The Lensherr Mansion**

**Switzerland**

Governor Lorien Lensherr knew that the battle for Earth was well underway. He thought about what fate would befall those he had known as he sat alone at his dinner table. As he pressed his wine glass to his lips he heard the slightest creak of wood and said "I knew you would eventually find your way here. 

President T'Chaka stepped out of ht shadows in the traditional Panther uniform of a Wakandan soldier. In his arms, he was carrying a double-barreled Wakanda energy rifle. Each barrel was large enough to slide a fist in. "You knew it was going to come to shit. Too many deaths are on your head."

T'Chaka let loose a shot from the rifle, but Lensherr pushed himself away from his table just in time and threw himself t the floor. The blast knocked away a large chunk of the table an sent hundreds of splinters and us tint the air. T'Chaka quickly let loose another round at Lensherr towards the floor, but by then the mutant governor had erected a magnetic field around himself. He had inherited a lesser form of his greatest ancestor's power.

Not relenting, T'Chaka let loose round after round on Lorien's field until was too much for the Governor and his shield failed him. Exhausted, he bowed his head and waited for the killing blow from T'Chaka but it didn't come. Looking up, the Governor saw that T'Chaka was surrounded by at least forty men and trying to blast them away one by one.

Each man was garbed from head to toe in black with only the lower halves of their faces visible. On their backs were white skulls and green emerald necklaces hung from all of their necks. Lensherr immediately recognized who they were and knew that his allies had not forgotten him. They were The Coven and represented the best of his lover, Selene's, servants. Completely devoted to her, they would protect all that was precious to her.

T'Chaka rolled out of the crow of Coven men surrounding him and began letting loose blast after blast until his gun was finally depleted of energy. He would have to give it time to recharge. The President tossed the weapon on what remained of Lorien's dinner table and two swords extended from his wrists. "Can't fight your won battles Governor?"

Lensherr laughed and pushed his white hair out of his face. "Magus does not forget his friends!"

The Coven members blew out smoke from their mouths and from each cloud they crated they pulled forth a scimitar. Even the ones that T'Chaka had blasted had recovered and were equipped with a weapon. T'Chaka had taken he time to cunt hem and knew that he was facing fifty six men. Fifty seven if you counted Lorien, but the President barely felt the need to include that coward.

Lorien saw the odds that stood against T'Chaka and said "Your arrogance has found you your doom Mr. President."

T'Chaka looked up briefly at the roof and said "I wanted this to be a battle of honor Governor, but did you think for one moment I would be foolish enough to come here on my own?"

The roof of Lorien's mansion exploded and dozens of S..D. agents rappelled down from swirling teleportation portals. Vulcan had allowed T'Chaka his moment of boldness in front of the others on The Pantheon, but ere was no way he was going to allow Earth's leader to step into a hostile situation alone.

A S.W.O.R.D. agent named Doora landed behind President Stark. Doora had been a Kree defector who was genetically manipulated with a number of local Kree predatory species. So he wad looks that were quite fearsome and his voice was raspy. "Are you alright Mr. President?"

"Fine Dora. Just cake care of the riff raff."

"Yes sir."

T'Chaka set his sights on the Governor and charged.

**NEXT ISSUE: T'Chaka and Lorien have their duel! And Cairo continues to be enthralled in war.**

**SUPPLEMENTAL INFO**

**A Look into the Life of Mindbender Pt. 2**

Plain Starsmore loved his sister greatly and hated when she left, but he came to wish that she had never returned. When she came back she was part of Rogue's newly formed Brotherhood of Mutants. Xavier didn't feel that Palin was ready for combat operations, but Palin demanded he be let into the New X-Men to confront her. Xavier knew that he wasn't going to be able to stop the teenager form coming into conflict with his sister so he made him part of the team.

The New X-Men along with the Silver and Blue Squad confronted The Brotherhood of Mutants in Berlin. It was a pitched battle that resulted in a few deaths on more than both sides. Palin soon found himself in a heated psychic battle with his sister that resulted in her death and him absorbing her psionic abilities. Palin found himself back at square one again, but this time he turned to his father instead of Xavier.

What Palin didn't know was that Tara's corpse had found its way to the home of Miss Sinister on Mount Wundagore…


	17. Chapter 17

**A.R.M.O.R. #17**

**Planetary Strike Pt. 17**

**Law #2: The Lead Director **

**Clause 1: Lead Director's must be nominated by at least fifty other Directors before being able to be placed into the election race.**

**Clause 2: Lead Director's are able to serve for as long as they desire or if 5/4****th****'s of the entire M.D.A. agrees to remove them.**

**Clause 3: Previous Lead Directors are able to serve again if necessary, but must instead by be nominated by at least two hundred Directors for a second potential term.**

**=AR=**

**Cairo, Egypt**

Emplate, The Horseman of Pestilence, stared down five Ladies of The Rotting Hand approaching him. He was in a narrow alley and wouldn't have much room to maneuver, but he would not yet yield to these flesh diseased wenches. He was a Horseman of Apocalypse and would serve his master's memory appropriately. "You would do well to leave this place. I shall not be kind to you if you don't."

The Ladies were clothed in tattered black dresses and sores covered their gray flesh. Each of them had eyes that glowed with menacing light. They moved towards Emplate with a slow walk that made them seem like they would topple at any moment. Emplate might have found it humorous if he didn't know how dangerous these priestesses were. Their touch made flesh turn to ash and they wielded other dark magic. But Emplate was far more than the mutant he had once been.

Apocalypse had enhanced and changed his abilities to make him a deadlier warrior and more effective killing machine. He knew his warning had fallen on deaf ears so he would have to battle these women. Putting his hands out, his palms opened up in the center. Tiny mouths with razor sharp teeth chomped at the bit to attack The Ladies of The Rotting Hand. The mouths opened wide and tiny, purple worms flew out of them. The creatures soared through the air and landed on the various attacking women. Burrowing deep into their gooey skin, the worms tore through the former priestesses' bodies. They howled in agony as the worms infected them and caused large boils to pop up all across their body.

The Horseman of Pestilence ran forward and jumped into the air. With the mouths on his palms wide open, he smacked both of his hands into the foreheads of two writhing Ladies of The Rotting Hand. He feasted on their life essence and as he did so they were altered into Emplates that would serve his whim. And like a true disease, they could spread it through the forces of The White Gods and turn the tide in this battle.

"Go forth and bring me an army," Emplate said to his two newly formed servants. The other priestesses fell to the ground, unable to maintain a grip on consciousness as their boils popped and spilled out painful, burning pus.

**=AR=**

"You face Death itself, how dare you try and defy it?" Exodus said, his voice booming across the sky as he floated outside of Cairo to face The Forest Dancers. He was not doing it alone as a host of X-Force soldiers and Deathloks were already engaged with the White God servants on the ground.

The Forest Dancers were solemn in their killing. Their white cloaks, stiff as bark, barely moved as they struck down their foes with what looked to be like wooden weapons. But Exodus telekinetically felt his way around those weapons and knew just how dense they really were. It would take a good amount of force to break their weapons, but Exodus smiled as he considered other less powerful things on them. Like their stringy, green hair.

Honing his focus, Exodus reached out and telekinetically grabbed the hair of all The Forest Dancers. With a flick of his hand, the beings were snatched into the air and cried out as they were flung backwards. Exodus' attack ripped all of their hair out of their heads, leaving small patches. They landed on top of each other in a chaotic heap. Exodus reached out with his telekinesis to keep them from being able to get up. Looking down at the Deathloks and X-Force members, he said, "Attack them already and be done with it!"

One member of X-Force leaped a dozen yards into the air and flung her lengthy arms out in front of her. A large, bulbar burst of pink energy erupted from her purple palms and streaked across the sky down at the pile of Forest Dancers. The energy struck them and sent up a plume of pink smoke interspersed with Forest Dancer appendages. Exodus used his telekinesis to feel past the plume and grabbed the Forest Dancer's loosened weapons with it. At his mere thought, the weapons flew into the air and he aimed them all downward. With a roar of rage, he sent the weapons crashing down into the pile like a hundred tiny missiles.

**=AR=**

**The Pantheon**

Brian and everyone else on the bridge of The Pantheon were ready to attack when they saw a plume of black smoke appear right in front of their navigation officer. But tensions were immediately relaxed when Wiccan and Portal's team stepped through it.

Director Braddock got out of his commander's chair and went to greet the two men. He grabbed each one by a shoulder and gave them a slight shake. It was a combination of congratulations and relief. "Glad the two of you made it back. Gaia's team is in the hangar along with the members of your team Wiccan. Feel free to join them and rest up."

Wiccan watched Portal and Phobia walk away. He imagined that Portal was eager to make sure that Gaia was alright. Brian eyed him for a moment, trying to consider why Wiccan hadn't left yet. He decided to end that brief speculation. "I'm going to Earth, Director Braddock. I can feel The White Gods from here and they've summoned forth their servants. But I think I have the power to put them back in their prison."

Brian took a deep breath before speaking. Wiccan could already see the rejection coming a mile away, but it didn't matter. He had made his decision and he was going to follow through with it. "Billy, I can look at you and tell you're exhausted. What you did on Selene's ship was brilliant and we all appreciate your efforts, but you can't push yourself too hard. When the time is right we'll turn this ship around and go help Earth. Right now you need to rest."

"No. I can't rest. Earth is in danger. I can feel it. Trust me on this," Wiccan said, his eyes suddenly becoming completely black. Brian had never seen that kind of display from Billy before and he had to admit that he was frightened by it. "I'm more powerful than I have ever been Director Braddock. When I killed Selene I had to absorb all her power into myself. With that power came knowledge. I know that I can lock The White Gods up and make sure it's a prison that will never be broken."

Brian folded his arms across his chest and looked sternly at Wiccan. He didn't want to put the young man in danger, but he had just been shown that Billy was changed. Maybe he could handle it. "Alright. Do what you have to do. But don't make me regret this."

**=AR= **

**The Lensherr Mansion**

**Switzerland**

President T'Chaka Stark charged at Govern Lorien Lensherr with all the fury betrayal provided him. Lorien had been the Governor of Europe, but sold his world out to The Magus. For that, Stark would make sure that he delivered death.

"I will make sure that your name is emblazoned as one of the greatest traitors in all our history," T'Chaka said as he swung both of his swords at Lorien's head. The mutant mustered up a magnetic field and deflected the swords away from him. T'Chaka expected this so he twisted his body with the deflection and kicked Lorien in the stomach.

The blow sent Lorien crashing into his dinner table, knocking down more utensils and napkins. T'Chaka imagined that each one cost a pretty penny because even while Europe economically suffered, every Lensherr was wealthily handsome. A disparity that President Stark had never cared for and now he was going to take that out on Lorien. Along with other more grave matters. "Innocent men are dying because of your treachery Lorien. Innocent!"

Lorien laughed and pulled a small metal bar from out of his white vest. He held the bar into his palm as it hummed and became a green energy rod. T'Chaka recognized the design. It was a Skrull battle rod, an antique but useful enough given the circumstances. Lorien spun it expertly in front of him, waiting for T'Chaka to make the first move. "This is war Mr. President. There is no such thing as innocents. We're all defiled and deranged. I simply just choose to cast my lot with the winning side. The side that will see Europe return to glory!"

"That's what this is all about!" T'Chaka clashed his swords with Lorien's rod. He spun away after his quick attack and cut Lorien across the side. As Stark figured, Lorien's magnetic field required concentration and if he wasn't doing that, then he was vulnerable to attack. It was satisfying to see the red blood flow from the two gashes. "You betrayed us because of Europe? You know good and well I was working to see this place rebuild to its former stature. But these things take time Lorien. My continent had to fight to rise out of its Dark Age. Do you think Europe so different? Do you think your people would ever really follow The Magus?"

Lorien gripped his side and turned to face T'Chaka. The blood stood out starkly against his white suit. "You should see the anger on your face. That is the same kind of anger my people have had for decades. So yes, they would serve The Magus. Because we want justice."

"The Magus cannot bring justice!" T'Chaka said, charging at Lorien. The two parried blows, but T'Chaka was the far superior warrior. Soon a series of quick strikes rendered Lorien weaponless and covered with wounds. Dropping to his knees, Lorien looked up at T'Chaka and scowled. There was no hesitation from the President as he removed Lorien's head. "The Magus only brings death."

**=AR=**

**Cairo, Egypt**

Moonstar drove her sword into the back of one Grimeak and cut off the head of another with her other sword. She danced through the creatures like she was the star of a ballet performance. Death was her music and she moved perfectly and gracefully to every note. For every Grimeak that leaped over head with their pronged feet, she cut down two others. They would remember the Horseman of War before this day was done.

The large psychic wolves that she summoned as her personal army ripped into the Grimeak like they were a great feast laid out just for them. With every bite, her creatures sent surges of psionic energy through the Grimeak, forcing them to live out horrible nightmares only their minds could conceive of. She felt their fear and lusted for more of it. Moonstar would not walk away from this battle until the Grimeak knew her as a deliverer of darkness and nightmares.

Diving forward from her latest kill, Moonstar rolled under one Grimeak and drove her sword upward into the bottom of its tiger-shaped head. The creature's eyes rolled back as her weapon of steel and psychic power pushed through flesh and bone. There was no time to relish the victory as another Grimeak charged at her, swinging its four tails wildly. What made those tails deadly were the blue blades on the end of each of them.

Before Moonstar could make her move against the Grimeak, it was enveloped in a pillar of fire. It let loose a horrible scream as its flesh was charred and turned to ash. The inferno ceased and stinking, green skeleton fell to the Cairo street. Moonstar looked for the source of the attack and saw Fire Mage approaching with members of her X-Force. Normally, she would have found herself in battle with these mutants, but today they were allies.

Though she honestly lamented the lack of lives she would now be able to claim. When alone, all the Grimeak were hers to slaughter. Now she would have to share the kills and that did not suit The Horsemen of War well at all. She wanted to be able to brag of her prowess to her brethren. To show them that she and she alone was the most dedicated to Apocalypse's vision. She almost felt like abandoning this battle for one where she would be able to operate more freely.

But a true warrior put accomplishing a task before glory and this battle with the Grimeak was not yet done. She saw a member of X-Force be gutted by a Grimeak's tail blade. In vengeance for that fallen soldier, Moonstar directed six of her wolves to attack the Grimeak. They charged in like ravenous monsters and laid waste to the Grimeak, rendering its mind a thing filled only with horrors. Yes, it was a worthy vengeance.

A large vibration suddenly ripped through the area and knocked Moonstar to her feet. She quickly rose up and spotted the source of it. The White God, Mulzeta, was in their midst. He stood at least two heads taller than her and had a mouth full of blue pike-shaped things that might pass for teeth. It was impossible. Exodus had communicated to all of them that one of the other dimensional mutants had rendered The White God's mind clean. So she felt out with her empathic abilities and felt absolutely no emotion coming from the deity. His mind was indeed clean, but something else was guiding him.

Something told her to look skyward and she saw a young man hanging in the sky. His eyes were completely black and he had his hands in the air. Mulzeta copied his movements. Sheathing her swords, Moonstar created a bow and arrow with which to strike the young man down. That was until Fire Mage stepped into her path. "Don't. He's one of ours."

"He commands a White God. Who is he?"

"He's someone Alise brought along. Don't know the kid's name."

**=AR=**

Alise and Amiri were back to back fighting through Ladies of The Rotting Hand. She shot diamond spikes out of her hand while Amiri ruthlessly cut through them with his sword. This felt right to Alise, being at Amiri's side. Even if this was where it all ended.

"I wonder how the Horsemen fare," Amiri said as he buried his sword in the chest of one of the priestesses. For every one he cut down though, their corpses were transformed into fleshless dogs that howled and snapped at his heels. He hated magic.

"We fare well child of Apocalypse," Emplate said as he leaped over a wall and into the fray. From another alley a roar of multitudes came forth and dozens of Emplate's new slaves poured into the battle attacking like starving, rabid animals.

Amiri pulled Alise close to him. It felt good having her so close. Her diamond skin gave off no warmth, but sparks flurried between them. If this was his second chance, he had no intention of losing it so soon. "Let these creatures do their work and we can try to make our way to Fire Mage."

"Yes, you should go," Emplate said pointing to the sky where a young man with black eyes levitated. Hundreds of tiny red balls were starting to circle around the man and the light from these balls few with intensity every second. "I believe your friends now make their move."

Amiri gave his thanks to The Horseman of Pestilence and took Alise with him to see exactly what was going on.

**=AR=**

Wiccan could feel the power flowing through him. With Selene's knowledge he was able to latch on to Mulzeta. He would have to thank whoever had mindwiped the creature for it made his task a much easier one.

The red balls of energy that now swirled around him at an ever increasing pace where pieces of Mulzeta's divinity made manifest. With this power at his fingertips, Wiccan could become a god himself if he wanted to. Something in the back of his mind yearned for him to take that power and forget this war, but he ignored that desire. His friends came first.

"Gods of old who never see dust." Wiccan didn't realize it, but his voice could be heard throughout all of Cairo. "Your immortality is a gift squandered. Be now flesh and blood like those who worshipped. Be deprived of power and made to plea. For immortality you shall never again see."

As he spoke those words, all the red balls spinning around him solidified into one giant ball. Wiccan dove his hand into it and felt all the power of The White Gods and their servants. It felt like his hands was entwined in a thousand strings. All he had to do was pull the right one. He smiled as he found it and yanked his hand out. As he did so, the red ball crumbled like snow and fell to the ground.

Wiccan watched as The White Gods and their allies throughout Cairo stumbled and gripped their bodies as pain rushed through them. That pain was only the beginning as they all began to crumble away like ashes on the wind. Smiling, Wiccan looked down at his hands. The hands that had defeated gods.

"This is power. True power," he whispered.

**=AR=**

**Uranus Orbit**

Magus could feel it. He had lost.

He was surrounded by a small force of powerful entities and all of his generals were dead. The Kree homeworld had been devastated and he had just felt the deaths of The White Gods. All he had left was The Accusers. His assault on the Sol system had cost him far too much. What was left of his forces would not be able to defeat was what left of Earth's. A smart general knew when it was time to pull back.

Looking to Gravity, The Cosmic Protector, he said, "You have won this day, but my war is not over. I will rise again."

Lifting up a hand, The Magus dissipated from space and whatever Accusers were still alive followed him soon after. Tyrusa Zane howled in rage. "Cowards! You run from a worthy death!"

Gravity flew to the man's side. "Maybe. But we did what we set out to do. We protected Earth. Your Immolated Holiness has my gratitude."

Tyrusa smiled and Gravity knew that there was nothing expressing friendship in it. "Yes, you have. Our task is done, but remember that you now our Lady of Fire a boon."

"And when she asks for it, I will be there to repay it."

Tyrusa nodded and turned to his Dark Legion. "We go home! Back to The Fault!"

**=AR=**

**Cairo, Egypt (A Week Later)**

Brian walked through the devastated streets of the city with President Stark on one side and Alise Parker on the other. "So now that The Magus is gone, what will you do about the forces you called to help you? Do you still require our aid in that regard?"

The President shook his head. "No, I have another task for all of them. The Magus was tremendously weakened. We need to track him down and deal the final blow while he still remains in such a state. That will be their task."

"That'll give us enough time to figure out what we want to do with them," Alise said.

Brian nodded. "Then I will report to The M.D.A. that our mission here is complete."

"And tell your alliance that we cannot thank them enough. Without your help, I fear we may have lost this battle," President Stark said.

"I wouldn't doubt your forces too much Mr. President. You had some worthy soldiers out there. I just wish we could have saved more lives."

The President stopped walking and looked up into the sky. "You had a man who single-handedly stopped The White Gods. That is something none of my forces could do. I think my assessment is accurate enough."

Brian had heard of Wiccan's feat, but he was more disturbed by it than anything. Wiccan always showed potential, but such feats never seemed within his current capabilities. He could only wonder what absorbing Selene's power had done to him. Would all the changes be for the better?

"Well it was a pleasure to serve with you President Stark," Brian said as he shook hands with the mutual descendant of Tony Stark and T'Challa. "I think my world's versions of your ancestors would be proud."

Stark pulled off his mask and smiled. "I would hope so. But my people have work to do and I'm sure you have things to handle as well."

"Indeed I do. My people will be pulling out in the hour. A few will be staying behind to monitor our prison for any damage if that's fine with you?"

"Of course. I owe you my world Brian. How could I refuse?"

**NEXT ISSUE: The A.R.M.O.R. agents get up to speed on happenings they've missed and Wiccan prepares himself to go to Earth-521. But who else now wants to go with him? **

**Captain Britain**

**Wiccan**

**Portal**


	18. Chapter 18

**A.R.M.O.R. #18**

**Rescue Mission Pt. 1**

**The Mukuru (The Bleed)**

**Presidential Director's Office**

"You have done a tremendous job," Presidential Director Battlestar said as he handed Brian a glass of wine. "All of the M.D.A. appreciates the work you did on our behalf. Saving our dimensional prison is a feat none of us shall soon forget."

Brian took the red wine and sipped from it. "Yes, well I work for the good of us all. I don't want any accolades. A job well done is good enough for me."

"I'm sure it is. And hopefully your men and those other units with you will have time to rest before the next crisis is upon us." Battlestar sat down in his chair, his three centuries of age showing for just a moment. Brian had never taken the time to ask how his life ended up being extended for so long. But now, he needed something to fill in the awkward silence.

"So you're over three hundred years old Director. How did that happen?"

Battlestar paused for a moment. Brian suspected memories were rolling through the man's mind. He had that look in his eyes of someone lost in the past. Finally, he took a small breath and spoke. "The Elixir Vitae. I'm not sure if your world has such a thing, but it is a liquid substance that increases life. It was controlled by The Red Skull on my world. He had a vat of the stuff. In my last encounter with him, I fell into that vat. I've been alive ever since."

Brian decided to be frank. "You don't sound overly joyed about that."

"I have seen many things I wish I hadn't Brian. Sometimes I think this long life is nothing more than The Red Skull's last laugh."

"Your life is anything but that Director. You are doing great work for The Multidimensional Alliance. If you hadn't of been around, Lord Deathstrike might have won the election."

Battlestar smiled fragilely. "Yes, and we all know what a disaster that would have been. But you didn't come here to talk politics Director Braddock. What's on your mind?"

Again, Brian cut straight to the point. "My men uncovered information while in Earth-97701 about something The M.D.A. was hiding called The Neocounts of Olympus Mons. What do you know about them?"

Battlestar leaned back in his chair and looked up at the roof. "I was hoping that you wouldn't find out about that, but I mostly expected that you would. There are threats that The M.D.A. knows about that we have largely kept from most of The Directors. Threats that we will need a great deal of power to tackle."

Brian frowned. "So we were willing to cut a deal with The Magus first in order to get them? Is that really how this alliance is going to operate?"

"I'm not sure how the countries on your Earth operate Director Braddock, but how many good nations have worked with less than reputable people for the greater good? Getting the Neocounts was for the greater good. They are weapons we will need to have if we ever come across some of the threats we've gleaned."

Brian stiffened and his posture became like a noble's. "What are these threats that require so much secrecy?"

"I'm not at liberty to talk about them yet Director Braddock."

Narrowing his eyes, Brian said, "Then what's to stop me from telling everyone that will listen about the Neocounts?"

Battlestar spread his hands out on his desk and took a deep breath, before pushing himself up. "Director Serenity's world wasn't abandoned because our rules prevented us from helping her. Her world was abandoned because she's making the same kind of threat that you are now. I would strongly advise against you making it again."

"I never really suspected you of making those kinds of threats."

"Then you'll understand just how serious this issue is then." Battlestar got up from his chair and moved to the front of his desk. "There are forces in The M.D.A. that you are not aware of. Forces that are moving this alliance to bigger and better things, but I do not have a great deal of sway over them. So I couldn't promise you much in the way of protection if you continue down the path you're on."

Brian folded his arms across his chest. He heard sincerity in Battlestar's voice, but now he began to wonder what his world had gotten itself into. "For the sake of seven billion lives, I won't. But I don't like this Battlestar and I have a hunch you don't either."

Battlestar walked forward and put a hand on Brian's shoulder. "Trust me. Things are better this way." Then he led Brian out of his office.

**=X=**

**The Hollow (Earth-792)**

"Damn can't a man catch a nap? I can't believe you're ready to go already," Portal said, standing outside of his and Gaia's room, talking to Wiccan.

"We don't have time. For all I know, Epoch could be dead already."

"I'm sure he died a little inside when he decided to hook up with you anyway."

Wiccan's face turned red. "Portal!"

Portal threw up his hands defensively. "Ok, ok. Sorry. I just would like to have gotten a little personal time in with Gaia before we headed out."

A blur blew past the two men and send their clothes up in a dizzy. The blur stopped to their sides and revealed itself to be Wiccan's twin brother Speed. Portal always figured they were fraternal twins given some of their differences. Speed had pure white hair and Wiccan's was brown. Wiccan was a prick and Speed actually knew how to have a little fun every now and then.

"I know where you're going Billy and I'll be damned if you think you're leaving without me," Speed said, pointing a finger at his brother. "Epoch was my friend, just as much as he's your lover. I'm not gonna let you do this alone."

"One more person couldn't hurt," Portal said. "And the more you argue with him about it, the more time you're wasting."

Wiccan frowned at Portal and turned to his brother. "Fine, you can come. We're leaving in ten minutes."

Portal ran a hand through his hair. "Think I'm going to need the old battle armor for this one. Might get a little rough seeing as how we haven't the faintest idea what's waiting for us."

Wiccan put a hand on his brother's shoulder to keep him from speeding off. "Might as well tell both of this while I have you here. The threat we face on Epoch's world is a very real one."

Portal shrugged. "Alien invasion. I kind of figured that meant it was serious."

"The Carmondians have conquered nearly the entire planet save for a few tracts of Argentina, where the last of the resistance is," Wiccan said, holding out a hand and creating a glowing white globe in it. The geographical location of the resistance was highlighted in red. "I don't know if Epoch is there. But that's where we need to start looking for him."

"How do you know all of this?" Portal asked. "I thought we lost all communication with their world."

Wiccan clasped his hand and the globe disappeared. "I have ways. My powers are significantly stronger now."

Portal pushed his lips to one side of his face and looked at Speed. "Doesn't matter one way or another to me. I just want to find this guy and get the hell out of there." Portal walked away from the two brothers. "I'm going to say bye to Gaia. Then we can go."

**=X=**

**An Hour Later**

**Earth-521 (New Hope, Argentina)**

A bent stop sign in the middle of a residential neighborhood was torn apart by the energies of Charles Littlesky's emerald portal. Wiccan leapt out of the gateway, followed by his twin brother and Portal. A quick glance made the devastation plainly obvious. Speed put a hand on Wiccan's shoulder. "We'll find him. I'm sure he survived this."

"He better have," Portal said, as he put together an energy rifle. "I didn't come all this way to retrieve a corpse."

"You're just a barrel of laughs," Speed said, his eyes focused on a pile of burnt cars in what might have once been a nice suburban yard. "Maybe I should scout ahead."

"No!" Wiccan said. He knew his brother had a tendency to ask questions and not wait to get an answer. "Portal's right. We don't have any idea what we're dealing with here. For now, we need to treat this like an F.C.E.*"

(*-First Contact Expedition- Brent)

"So how far is this world's Hollow?" Speed asked.

"Don't know, but I can teleport us there," Portal said. Wiccan hadn't been able to provide a specific targeting point, but now that they were here Charles was quickly gaining an innate understanding of the terrain. It was a natural side effect of his powers.

"Go ahead and do it, but be ready for anything," Wiccan said, tight with worry.

"Let's just go already. This standing around is starting to drive me crazy," Speed said.

Portal opened up a rip in the fabric of space and playfully gestured to the brothers like a butler. "After you."

Speed dashed into the portal followed by Wiccan. Portal hoisted his rifle on his shoulder and stepped through. The circular rip slamed shut, leaving behind the desolated suburb.

An exact, but opposite rip opened up four miles to the northeast inside of a fenced facility. The three ARMOR agents walked out of the portal and took in the smoky surroundings. The gray facility was littered with blast marks and scattered fires.

"So this is it?" Speed sped around the building and came back. "They suffered a pretty heavy attack."

"Did you see any kind of entrance?" Portal kept his rifle out, scanning the area for any potential hostiles.

"One, but rubble is blocking it. I can probably shake it up, but I don't know how unstable the building is."

Wiccan closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Then it looks like I'll have to get us in." Trickles of blue light formed at his fingertips. "Provide us with safe passage into this building. Shield us from harm and bring us to friends."

The blue light expanded and blanketed the three men. As soon as the light enveloped them, they vanished.

It was a momentary departure that brought them into The Hollow. They were immediately surrounded by soldiers aiming a variety of pistols at them.

Wiccan slowly lifted his hands up. "We're friends. We're from The M.D.A., Earth0792. I'm looking for Epoch. He was a member of this world's ARMOR."

A woman stepped through the crowd of ARMOR agents. "And he still is."

"Director Hand we're here to help. So could you please tell your men to put down their weapons?" Wiccan asked this knowing he could have stopped them if he wanted to. Dark words of power simmered in his mind. A word to induce insanity of a chant to devour their souls.

Victoria Hand slapped her hand down and all of the ARMOR agents put down their weapons. She locked eyes with Wiccan and he could see she was full of fury. "You're not here on the behalf of The M.D.A. They abandoned us to our fate."

Speed stiffened up at the comment. Wiccan knew that Tommy had taken it personally. There was strong tone of accusation in Director Hand's voice. "Not all of The M.D.A. agrees with the decision that was made."

"But that's not why you're here. You're here for Epoch." She continued before Wiccan had a chance to rebut. "I hope you didn't think I'm stupid enough to believe the three of you are here to save our world."

Portal laughed. "Well, at least you're smart."

Wiccan cut his eyes at Portal. "I worked with your ARMOR before Director Hand and we did good work. You may be underestimating us now."

Victoria folded her arms under her chest and kept her steely stare on Wiccan. "It's only because of that you're still alive. I don't trust any part of The M.D.A. so you're going to have to prove yourself."

"Fine. Just make it quick. I'm not going to leave here until I know where Epoch is at."

"Follow me." She turned away from the three men and walked through the crowd of ARMOR agents. Speed kept right on her heels.

The four of them made their way through a series of hallways until they got to an elevator. Victoria bent down and let the elevator scan her retina. The door opened wide and all of them stepped in.

"Finding Epoch isn't going to be easy. I haven't heard from him in over a month. He was working with Team X in The Gaul Empire and hasn't been heard from since." Victoria didn't pay the least bit of attention to Wiccan's strained face.

"Gaul Empire?" Speed asked, waiting for someone to fill him in.

"I'll explain later," Wiccan said as they reached the sixth level basement. "So what is the exact situation here, Director Hand? We were only given so much information."

Victoria led through a floor of beeping computer consoles flashing a rainbow of colors. "This is an occupation. The Carmondians are exacting revenge on us for not killing The Diamond Surfer."

"So now you're getting your asses kicked right?" Portal said, earning a harsh glare from Victoria and Wiccan. "Just stating facts here people. We wouldn't be here to rescue Wiccan's squeeze if the situation was any different."

Victoria continued. "As your friend so eloquently put it, The Carmondians are kicking our ass. Their attack was unexpected and all major population centers have been devastated."

They stepped in front of a tubular force field and floating in it was a blue sword. Victoria pointed at it. "All my magic specialists are dead so this is yours Wiccan, but under one condition."

"What is it?" Wiccan looked like a kid in a candy store. It was an expression that both Speed and Portal took note of. There was a certain ravenous to it.

"Are you really about to just give that away?" Everyone turned to the source of the question and saw a middle-aged man in a pink suit and walking on a white cane. He turned his nose up at Portal and Speed.

"This is Percival Pinkerton." Victoria gestured towards the man. "I need you to get him and two other agents into The Gaul Empire to meet an important contact. Agree to do that for me and Vishanti's Sword is yours to keep."

"You have a deal," Wiccan said, his eyes glued on the sword. He could hear his magic almost singing to him as he stared at the weapon. "Besides, if Epoch is in The Gaul Empire that's where we're headed anyway."

"Good. I'll need you to leave ASAP." Victoria walked up to the console in front of the force field. "Command code one-two-four alpha-epsilon seven."

The force field dropped and Wiccan caught the weapon out of the air. He instantly felt its power and its memories. ON this world, a thousand men before him held this weapon. Some were noble and others were completely corrupt. Wiccan was determined to be the last person to ever have this sword.

"So who else are we taking besides for him?" Speed asked, pointing a thumb at Pinkerton. He just hoped the other two weren't as brightly colored as him. They might as well put a sign on their back asking to please be shot.

"The Rose and Viper, last of my brave Howling Commandos. I strongly doubt any of you possess any quality that makes you worthy of being in their company." As Pinkerton spoke, both of them walked out of the elevator at the opposite end of the room.

"I guess we're about to find out," Speed said.

"Ooo I'm just shaking and rattling in here," Portal said.

Pinkerton frowned. "And this is who you decided to give The Sword of Vishanti to."

"Don't question me Percival. I know what I'm doing. Now I suggest you all play nice. You're about to head right into enemy territory."

Victoria waited until Viper and Rose were part of the gathering. "These three are going to go with you into Gaul. Find Toad and bring him the data. If he's not found in 72 hours then you find Kelly."

"And if he's not found?" Rose asked.

"Then destroy the data and do as much damage to the enemy as possible. If we can't break the Carms in Gaul then we damn sure won't be able to do it anywhere else." Victoria looked at each of them. "Don't blow this mission or your chance to find Epoch because of petty squabbles. Now I have business to attend to. Banner doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Victoria walked away from them and the six individuals remained silent for a few minutes after she was gone. Finally, Viper broke the ice. "Well, gentlemen I suppose we have some getting acquainted to do."

Speed smiled and put his hand out to Viper. "Bout time! Thought that would never end. I'm Speed. That's my brother Wiccan and Portal is the guy wearing a ton of metal."

"So I take it the three of you are from another dimension then? And why are you here to find Epoch?"

"Full of questions aren't we?" Portal said to an unresponsive Rose.

"Yes, we're from another dimension," Wiccan said. "And I'm here to find Epoch because I love him and I'll be damned if I leave him here."

Pinkerton laughed, full of pomp and haughtiness. "You must not know Epoch if you really think he would abandon his world. Unlike your alliance, Epoch does not leave his friends when they're in need."

Wiccan wasn't sure what to say to that. Speed quickly stepped in. "We're here aren't we? So let us help however we can and shut the hell up till then."

The Rose and Viper stiffened. Rose pointed a finger. "Speak to Pinkerton like that again and I'll break your neck."

Wiccan's eyes flashed black. "Enough! We won't make it a day arguing like this."

"Wiccan's right," Viper said. "We all have friends we want to help. So let's just do it."

**NEXT ISSUE: Someone comes to pay Brian a visit and she comes courtesy of Battlestar with secrets to spill and warnings to give. And we get a peek into Serenity's world and find out exactly why The Multidimensional Alliance abandoned it. **

**Brian Braddock**

**Wiccan**

**Speed**

**Portal**


	19. Chapter 19

**A.R.M.O.R. #19**

**Rescue Mission Pt. 2**

**Previously: Brian Braddock, Director of Earth-792's ARMOR lead The Multidimensional Alliance in a massive defense of one of their fellow Earths. The effort was taxing but ultimately they came out victorious. Now back home, three of Braddock's agents have gone to rescue a lost lover and Braddock is having to deal with a conspiracy within The MDA.**

**=X=**

**Director Braddock's Office**

Brian looked down at the paperwork and then up at Sub-Director Malform. The man admittedly wasn't the easy person to look at. His mutation had caused half of his body to look like a knotty, purple mess littered with bumps. The eye on that half was abnormally large and his mouth was gnarled like some horror movie monster. His appearance had tragically given Malform a temperament that made him perfect as a member of A.R.M.O.R.

"So Jaspers has been neutralized?" Braddock asked having looked over Malform's report detailing Jim Jaspers' massive alteration of reality. Brian had had his fair share of dealings with Jaspers.

"As far as we can tell. We didn't have any direct involvement with Jaspers."

Brian nodded. "I'll get in touch with The Avengers through the proper channels. I appreciate you holding down the fort while I was gone Malform."

The mutant saluted. "It's what we do sir."

When Malform was gone from the office, a hologram appeared in front of Braddock. The image was of a petite, young Colombian with an ebony bob and big golden hoop earrings. She was dressed in a form fitting white blouse, ruffled down the middle, and a red miniskirt. In her hands, she held a manila folder. "Hello Director Braddock."

Braddock smiled at the image of his secretary. "Nice to see you too Esperanza. How did you enjoy the honey moon?"

The woman looked liked she was practically about to burst with joy. "It was beautiful Director. I can't thank you enough for letting us use your vacation home! I've never seen the kind of beauty Tahiti has."

"I'm just glad you enjoyed yourself. So what's on the docket today?" Braddock approved a few vacation requests with his signature and put a sticky note on top of them to remind himself to pass them out later today.

"That's why I buzzed you sir. You have a visitor courtesy of Presidential Director Battlestar. She says it's an urgent matter."

Running a hand through his hair, Brian sighed. "With The M.D.A. when is it ever not? Send her to my office."

He was still looking through his paperwork, when a petite Vietnamese woman walked into the room. She was wearing a long red dress that split deep up her right leg. Her high, black heels clicked loudly along the linoleum floor. Thin hair was pulled up into a bun with two golden sticks pushed through it in the shape of an X. Uninvited, she sat down in front of Brian. "Director Braddock, I'm here on behalf of Presidential Director Battlestar."

"So I was told," Brian said, looking up at the woman eye to eye. "But I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Ada Braddock," the woman said holding out a hand to be shaken. "It's better if you don't think about it. I'm three hundred years removed from you."

"Good. I rather not think about it," Brian said. "So how can I help you?"

"It's more about how I can help you," Ada said, crossing her legs and resting an arm on them. "Battlestar apologizes about the threat he made to you, but he couldn't be frank. His office was bugged. That's why he sent me to give you the full details."

Brian sat up straight in his seat. "Who would bug his office?"

"The Shadow Elite. They're the movers and shakers behind the scenes of The M.D.A. and they're compromised of former Presidential Directors. But you have to initiated into their circle and that requires you meet certain standards."

"Is Battlestar trying to meet those standards?"

"Hardly, but The Shadow Elite have ways of getting rid of those who pose problems. And Battlestar doesn't want them digging into what he has going on yet. He's trying to topple The Shadow Elite and he wants you in on it."

Brian didn't even need to think twice. "Of course I'll help, but how?"

"Director Serenity needs to be able to get her world back into The M.D.A. and Battlestar is trying to put together a covert team to make that happen. He needs agents you can trust to contribute to that team."

"How many and when?"

"Three days. And whoever you can spare without it looking obvious," Ada said.

Brian stood up from his chair. "I'll send Motormouth, Mindbender, and Gateway. They should be enough. All three come with a wealth of skills."

"Excellent. We're all going to rendezvous on Earth-9940 within three days," Ada stood up and reached into her small black purse, pulling out a data stick. She handed it to Brian. "This will explain everything going on in Director Serenity's world. Believe when I say it's a great deal."

**=X=**

**Earth-670**

Serenity admitted every individual seated in the bunker with her, but she knew deep down that more would needed to see triumph at the end of the day. Still, they had chosen to rally around her so she needed to act like a worthy admiral and try to steer them to victory. It was a tall order, but she just couldn't give up on her world. She absolutely refused to.

"Ok everyone let's get right into the agenda today. We need to figure out how to prevent Graviton's airstrikes over Metro City and plan a counter strike in Prague."

The ageless Joseph Chapman, head of Mys-Tech, spoke first. "I believe that Hell's Angels should be sent against Graviton. They have the most history with him and understand his tactics best."

Always the talker, Abigail Falsworth spoke next. "They just lost Elixir and Smuggler in Tanzania. I'm not sure if it would be wise to send them into combat again so soon. Yes, they are soldiers, but we are beginning to test the boundaries of their strength. Perhaps The Maker and his Force Works team would be better."

"Don't be a putz," Harry Leland said as he puffed on a thick cigar. Serenity found the smell to be putrid, but everyone needed their comforts. "Force Works is exhausted. Rye Lake was an extremely difficult mission and they need to rest. Amahl's mind still needs time to heal."

Hawkeye shrugged. "Gotta agree with the fat bastard. We need a fresh gang of people in there."

Abigail bit down on a finger. "Maybe it's time we bring out The Spider-Men then. They're about the most rested force we have."

The twins, Fu and Zo Manchu, gave laughs teeming with condescension. But it was Fu who spoke. "You have doggedly pursued setting those monsters free Falsworth. They are unstable and woe to the day we are desperate enough to use them."

"Let my team go," Cecelia Reyes said. Serenity frowned, but Reyes continued. "You know my guys can do it."

"Well, it's not up to just me. What does everyone else think?"

Leland puffed out a stream of smoke. "Let her group of would-be Amazons handle it. They seem savvy enough to come back in on piece."

"Yup gotta agree with him again," Hawkeye said begrudgingly as if his agreeing was some prophetic sign of doom

"I still think we should consider The Spider-Men," Abigail said, but everyone knew there existed bad blood between her and Reyes. A teardrop wouldn't be spared if Graviton annihilated Reyes' entire team. Serenity wasn't sure as to the source of the hatred, but it probably had its origins in events before the war.

"I'll only agree to it if Cecelia agrees to have a Mys-Tech attaché as part of her team." Chapman had used the war and his influence to insert a Mys-Tech agent onto nearly every team. Serenity wanted to just give the man a massive punch to the face, but they needed Mys-Tech.

Zo Manchu stroked his chin thoughtfully. "The Manchu brothers believe another option should be sought out. But not The Spider-Men."

Serenity sighed because of the tie she was now going to have to break. Her decision would either propel Cecelia's team into action of leave them grounded. "Attacking Graviton is going to be an all bets off situation. Even with a surging amount of optimism, only about half of you will make it back."

"Well don't leave us in suspense umpire. What's your vote?" Hawkeye asked. The way he said it sounded juvenile, but it cut to the heart of the problem. Serenity had a choice to make and it probably amazed everyone she wasn't he first to voice her opinion as is normal. But she was tired of death and losing friends.

"Cecelia, your team can take this mission if you agree to Chapman's condition."

"I will." Cecelia and Joseph exchanged a nod.

"Now we need to figure out what to do about Prague. WE all know the blood hungry monster running that city."

Abigail practically clamped her jaw shut. "You forget to include pedophile."

"The Thin Man is all of those things, but he is also extremely cunning and organized. Prague as become very opulent under him," Leland said.

"Opulence with a non-optional side of dictatorship. Yes, I'm sure that's what the citizenries of the world want Leland," Chapman said.

"As opposed to the fungus of Mys-Tech growing in every nook and cranny."

Serenity agreed with Leland in that regard, but Mys-Tech's gross manipulation of the war wasn't the subject. "Focus people. We have to figure out how to optimally attack Prague and ruin The Thin Man."

"The city has six points of entry. It'll be necessary to reduce those points down to note. It would naïve to not expect this task to involve heavy causalities," Abigail said. She paused for a moment. "The only exception to this would be considering the nuclear option."

Chapman groaned. "Yes, let's just zap Europe right back into The Stone Age."

Cecelia glared at him. "Mys-Tech didn't show any qualms when they released their pathogen into Puerto Rico."

Serenity rubbed the bridge of her nose. She felt like pulling out every strand of raven hair she had. These meeting always devolved into accusation throwing, thinly veiled insults and lame comebacks. Old enmities always reared their ugly heads and there didn't seem to be way to stop them. They were supposed to be the vanguards of a new hope, but instead seemed steeped in grudges best forgotten.

"Prague is our focus people. Prague. Can we stay on top of that?"

Fu Manchu thankfully agreed with her. "WE should find a way to get our people into the city undetected. Maybe via one of their supply routes?"

"There is a rail system that we might be able to take advantage of," Chapman said.

Hawkeye perked up more than usual. "It should be my people that go. Sabotage is second nature to us."

Serenity wasn't going to put that to a vote. "You're right Clint; you take your people in. We'll give you a week to in and a week to take out those entry points. Otherwise we use The Spider-Men."

Abigail looked happy for a moment until realization ht her. "You just want them to get slaughtered."

Serenity saw the intense, angry energy in Abigail's blue eyes. "You're right. I would be happy if all your notorious killing machines were each quietly decapitated. But that's not the point. Your creations will never see the light of day unless it's on a mission where a large number of them stand to be killed."

Fu Manchu chimed in. "You took the most dangerous aspects of arachnids to create a highly resilient, efficient killer. But their aggressiveness is off the charts and they're more likely to frenzy than follow orders. Even you have to understand that."

Abigail pointed a finger at the elderly Fu, despair beginning to settle in. "You've always doubted my work. The Spider-Men can be successful."

"My orders are my orders. Or would you prefer to have still on the sidelines?" Serenity asked.

Abigail frowned. "Fine."

Chapman looked to Hawkeye. "Mys-Tech would provide your people with new weapons."

"Might be a good idea. We'll hash out the details later."

Abigail's next works were blatantly sarcastic. "Well, there's one thing you vast receptacles of knowledge haven't considered. The Thin Man has a fleet of zeppelins over the city and The Titans only a hundred miles away. So I tremble with excitement to see how you intend to handle that."

Serenity could see the satisfied smugness on Abigail's face. The problem she postulated was real enough, but a solution had already been devised for it. "Jeffrey Mace will handle the zeppelins and Saint Axis will distract The Titans."

Zo Manchu laughed. "So it seems disease has not ravaged my old friend after all."

Even Leland smiled. "The odds may not be as dismal as I previously thought."

**=X=**

**Director Braddock's Office**

Sub-Director Malform listened to everything that Director Braddock recounted to him about Ada Braddock's visit. It was a good bit information and he only had one question after hearing all of it. "So what did Serenity do to piss these guys off so bad?"

"She was going to blow the top on their attempts to find border dimensions," Braddock said, still scrolling through the information that Ada provided him with. He was surprised that she had any tech that could be compatible with his computer considering her dimension was three centuries ahead of theirs. But being able to work in different dimensions meant being able to grab your hands onto a variety of items.

"Border dimensions? You're going to have to explain that one to me sir."

"Think of it like the body. There is a hierarchy of simple to complex." Brian stopped scrolling through Ada's data and looked at Malform. He didn't want the man to think his looks offended him. "A universe is like a cell. Hundreds of thousands of cells make up an organ. That's a Multiverse. Currently, that's pretty much what the M.D.A occupies. The Omniverse is the entire body, but of course in that other body there was to be other organs or Multiverses. A border dimension would be the gateway that gets you from one organ to another."

Malform held up his hands. "That sounds good and dandy sir, but why would that put Serenity in such a bind?"

"Think of it like this. The Omniverse is the sum of every idea, thought, and possibility there ever was. As a teen, I quite often played Street Fighter under my Father's nose. Well, someone out there in the Omniverse the universe that game exists in is very much real. A border dimension would be a world where things from this world and things from that video game co-exist. S.H.I.E.L.D. doing battle with M. Bison and Shadowloo for example."

"You're the one with the smarts sir. This is still over my head," Malform said, tight and completely serious.

"Most threats out there in the Omniverse don't even take notice of us because they're in their own organs, handling their own functions. What The Shadow Elite are doing could very well literally open up the member worlds of The M.D.A . to millions if not billions of new potential threats. Serenity knew this and her world was silenced for it."

"Why the hell would The Shadow Elite want this?" Malform asked.

"Because like any arrogant fool, they think they can handle it." Braddock ran a hand across his face. The enormity of it was too much. "They have absolutely no idea what they're unleashing. None at all."

**NEXT ISSUE: We go back to Wiccan, Speed, and Portal as they try to track down Epoch. And who is waiting in ambush for them?**

**Captain Britain**


	20. Chapter 20

**A.R.M.O.R. #20**

**Rescue Mission Pt. 3**

**Previously: Brian Braddock, Director of Earth-792's ARMOR lead The Multidimensional Alliance in a massive defense of one of their fellow Earths. The effort was taxing but ultimately they came out victorious. Now back home, three of Braddock's agents have gone to rescue a lost lover and Braddock is having to deal with a conspiracy within The MDA. An agent of Presidential Director Battlestar has given him information about The Shadow Elite, a subversive group within the M.D.A intent on reaching out into other Multiverses regardless of the potentially disastrous results.**

**Earth-521**

**Capitas (The Gaul Empire)**

Capitas was the capital of the Fromme province of this Earth's Gaul Empire. It was a large metropolis that bordered the ocean in territory that Wiccan was more use to calling Spain. Capitas had once been The Gaul Empire's center of high class debauchery and a celebrity hot spot. The city once laid claim to being a massive swirl of class, fashion, and stiff drinks. All that changed when The Carmondians struck.

Fifteen million people were either killed or forced to flee by the aliens from the city. A hollow shell was all that remained. Once fabulous homes were now pockmarked by burns and broken windows. Pristine streets were littered with the wreckage of cars and street signs. The only people that remained in the city were those who fought as part of the resistance and they barely numbered over a thousand. The desolation silenced Wiccan and Speed upon first witnessing it.

"Seems like someone did a hell of a remodeling," Portal said, as they walked over a pile of wreckage. He had a gun on his shoulder as the two brothers moved behind him. Percival Pinkerton, Viper, and Rose were not far behind. Though they were in The Gaul Empire they had a long way to go in order to reach their contact.

"If it's the last thing I do I will see them pay for what they did here," Viper said, stopping to pick up a burnt toy truck. It was just one piece of lost hope among many in this city. "Capitas was not always the most moral place, but they didn't deserve this."

Portal snickered and Viper looked up at him with rage. "Something funny?"

"If you knew the Viper on my world you'd get it," Portal said, keeping his eye on the sky for Carmondian security sweeps. "So who are we supposed to be meeting up with? Or can you still not tell us that after me teleporting you over an ocean?"

Percival used his white cane to push him over a bit of debris and stepped to the front of the group. "I need to find Sally Fortune, but if we're going to get her then we need to find Blade first."

"The vampire hunter?" Speed asked.

"Former hunter," Percival smirked. "On our world, Blade successfully eliminated all the damn things. He's the leader of the resistance here in Capitas. So we either find him or Bobby Steele, his second."

Percival led the group down a street lined with towers that formerly housed million dollar condominiums. Now all that remained was broken windows, battle scars and smoke. It was the smoke that caught Portal's attention. "What's causing that?"

"Many refugees set up shop in these places in trying to get back to America. So probably just them trying to keep warm before it gets dark," Rose said, not even sparing a glance to look up at them. They might as well have been a thousand miles away as far as he was concerned. But Portal did notice the man grip his energy rifle a little tighter.

Wiccan had stopped walking and it took everyone a bit to notice. Speed looked back at his brother half with worry and half with curiosity. "Billy, we need to keep moving man."

"I'm sick of this," Wiccan said. "If Blade is truly the only vampire left on this world then it will be no issue finding him."

The knowledge he had taken from Selene, his own personal studies and even the knowledge of The Sword of Vishanti all flowed through Wiccan nearly to the point of overwhelming him. But he had no intention of succumbing to his own greatness now. Holding out a hand, he said incomprehensibly, "Abrvng ve atv thv amovt pvwervfuv avavpive iv athv lavd. Ebrivg ime ovherv uby ytve aswvftevt eway ivossvble."

Only a few feet away from Wiccan, a portal grew like a sapling into tree. It was a black orb that swifted and glistened like it was made of fresh water. "Step into it. It'll take us to Blade if what you say is true Percival."

Percival saw the challenge in that and stepped forward. "I am no liar." He walked into the orb.

Viper and Rose followed without a word. Portal cocked an eyebrow at Wiccan and did so as well. Speed stopped and tried to read his brother. "Billy, what's going on with you? I know you're concerned—

"We'll talk about it later! Just go!"

Tommy's shoulders hunched forward almost unnoticeably, but Wiccan saw it. He could pay it no mind though. He was not going to lose Epoch and if that meant having to nurse his brother's hurt feelings later then he'd do that. But when Tommy did step through the portal, Wiccan felt a tinge of hurt. But that tinge was smothered by Wiccan's sheer exhilaration at the power he possessed.

He stepped into the portal full of pride.

**=AR=**

**Earth-9940**

Ada Braddock was at the doorstep of Lady Ororo's Sanctumis Spectacularis to greet Motormouth, Mindbender, and Gateway. She was a short, slight woman with closely cut hair and a face more serious than an Army officer on duty. But her fashion screamed a young socialite about go out into a major city's nightlife with high black heels and a body fitting red dress that cut seductively up one leg past the thigh. "I'm glad the three of you were able to make it. Please come inside, you're the last ones to arrive."

Motormouth pushed her lips to one side of her face. She felt like the woman was taking a jab at them for being the last to show up. Harley already didn't want to be here and having to take shit from some woman who looked like she was reading to go grind up on some guy in a suit didn't make her feel any better. But if everything Director Braddock had told them was true then she needed to be here. She leaned over to Mindbender, who had been annoyingly quiet since getting back from Earth-97701, and said, "I'm almost positive that this chick probably has seen a guy naked in like a year. Do you see how uptight she was?"

"She's not uptight. This is just a serious situation," Mindbender replied.

Motormouth furled up her nose. "What's going on with you man? You haven't cracked a smile for me since we got back."

Mindbender smiled weakly. "I'm sorry. I guess doing what I did out there took more out of me than I expected. Promise, you'll get at least one dirty joke from me before this mission is done."

Motormouth playfully elbowed him in the side as they walked up the stairs leading to the Sanctumis Spectacularis. "I'll be holding you to that mate."

The Sanctumis Spectacularis was far larger on the inside than it appeared on the out. Its front foyer was an ivory royal court with spotless floors, jewel encrusted curtains and large statues expertly created with a theme of godliness in mind. There were three sets of stairs at the back of the foyer all leading to what Motormouth imagined were even more perfect sections of the house. The way Ada casually moved through it made Harley a bit disgusted with the woman. Opulence was never something that she thought someone should get use to.

"Follow me," Ada said, walking up to one of the elephant statues. She gripped its tusk and the floor next to it began to open up. Ada let go of the statue's appendage and walked down the stairs that the opening revealed. She waved the three towards her. "Come, the others are waiting for us."

"Much magic stirs in this place," Gateway said as he followed.

Ada nodded. "Lady Ororo is the Sorceress Supreme of this world. She is its most powerful magic wielder."

Gateway nodded. "Then I am honored to be in her presence."

Motormouth rolled her eyes and followed. "Oh yea, I can see where this going. I'm going to need a big fecking drink by the time I get back home."

They were led down the stairs into what seemed to be a dining hall with a long, white table capable of sitting over fifty. Candles of silver twisted and twirled upward across the center of the table. At the end of it were the people Motormouth imagined would be going on this mission with them. They weren't eating anything and they barely seemed to be talking so it didn't surprise Harley when all their eyes fell on her and her teammates.

There was a Skrull woman dressed up like Ms. Marvel so Harley was sure there was a story there. To the right of the Skrull Ms. Marvel was Serestus, an Atlantean sorcerer that seemed right at home in Lady Ororo's mystical abode. On the Skrull Ms. Marvel's left was the cyborg Gunshot who looked as annoyed as Motormouth felt. Seated across from the three was the Lilin known as Skinner, the genetically enhanced Lobe and the ancient warlord Gin Goh. Seated away from everyone was someone that Motormouth and her people had only recently encountered. Amiri Nur was a descendant of Apocalypse on Earth-97701 but had fought valiantly for the side of good. He gave the three new arrivals the slightest of nods as acknowledgement. It was an odd collection of people and Motormouth wondered how they intended on liberating an entire world. She suspected they were going to need a lot more.

Ada waited until Harley, Palin, and Gateway had taken a seat before talking. "Welcome everyone. I am sure you are aware of what is going with The Shadow Elite and why we're all here. Earth-670 must be liberated if we're going to be able to make any sort of stand against this group."

Lady Ororo clenched her fists. "Not an easy task considering the state of that world."

Ada continued, annoyed at the interruption. "Serenity's world is one rife with trouble unfortunately. An entity calling itself The Lords of Humanity orchestrated with The Shadow Elite's help a world war that left the planet too crippled to allow Serenity to ability to let The M.D.A. know all she had discovered."

"And just how did Serenity discover this?" Amiri asked. "What makes her so much more special than all the other Directors that are a part of The M.D.A.?"

"That detail really is a moot one," Ada said. "Just know she discovered the truth and we're going to help her get it out there. All of us together will be the blade she needs to free her world, even if it costs us our lives."

Mindbender shrugged. "I think we've all already agreed to that. So get to telling us how that happens."

"It's very simple. We kill in a way that Serenity can't. In a way that allows Serenity to win and be able to demonize us at the end of the day. So listen carefully and if at the end of what I have to say, you don't want to be a part of this then feel free to leave."

**=AR=**

**Earth-521**

Wiccan walked out of the black orb with a sword pointed at his throat. The rest of his allies in the former underground subway control center were all facing guns to the face even Percival and the last of his Howling Commandos. The man holding the sword was Blade and his face was locked into as grisly an expression as a wolf right before it takes the first bite of its prey. "You better start talking quick."

Blade's sword didn't even make Wiccan flinch. A thousand dark spells were swirling in his mind, begging to be used. Spells that didn't even require a verbal activation. A snap of his fingers could melt Blade's flesh from his bones. But he needed the man and using spells was a fatiguing task so it was best to use them when most needed. "Percival, Viper, and Rose are here on behalf of Victoria Hand. My friends and myself are trying to find Epoch and Team X."

"That bitch sits in her cushy base while the rest of us fight the real right. I don't want to hear shit she has to say." Blade kept his sword in place. "As for Epoch and Team X, I don't give two shits about you finding them."

"Put the weapons down Blade. We're not damn Carmondians," Percival said.

Blade dropped his sword and his operatives dropped their guns. "You may not be but you're no friends either. So get the hell out of here before I change my mind."

Wiccan stood firm. "Not without knowing about Epoch."

Blade walked up to the sorcerer and looked down on him. "Or what?"

Blackness filled Wiccan's eyes and he spoke with a voice that was ancient and old. "Or I resurrect every single vampire that has ever walked this Earth."

Blade flinched back. "Save the bluffs kids."

"Do I look like I'm bluffing?"

Percival tried to move towards Wiccan, but found himself unable to. It was the same for everyone else in the room. "Wiccan, stop! What are you—

Wiccan waved his hand and the flesh across everyone's mouth but Blade's fused together. It was a forced, horrifying silence. Blade looked at what the young man had done. "You're crazy. What the hell does Epoch mean to you?"

"I love him and I fully intend to find him. Now talk or you'll have to go back to being a vampire hunter."

Blade rolled his shoulders back, his hand itching to bring the sword across Wiccan's throat. "Epoch went with Team X to Gaudra. They're trying to shut down the Makrek production facility.

Wiccan's eyes returned to the normal and the flesh altering spell he had cast went away. "Now tell Percival what he needs to know. And you better do it fast because my threat still stands."

Wiccan walked out of the room, drained by the exertion of his transformation. All eyes followed him and did not speak a word until he was gone. Portal pulled Speed aside as The Howling Commandos talked hurriedly with Blade. "What the hell is going on with Billy?"

"I don't know. He's always been powerful. But never like that." Speed looked back at the door Wiccan walked out of, halfway wondering if he could hear them. "And honestly, he's always been a bit afraid to use his powers. But he didn't even hesitate."

"Then we watch. And we watch him close," Portal said. "We're just lucky he didn't do any real damage."

Outside the room, Wiccan felt the slightest alteration in this world. He couldn't figure out what, but he knew that he had been the cause.

**NEXT ISSUE: We go into Serenity's world and we see what is going on with Noh-Varr. How did he end up lost from Earth-792 and into the clutches of Onslaught? **

**OBSCURE CHARACTERS**

**I know I use quite a few obscure characters so if anyone was wanting to read up on anyone I was using here are some links: **

**Gin Goh- **** Gin_Goh_(Earth-616)**

**Percival Pinkerton- **** Percival_Pinkerton_(Earth-616)**

**Gunshot- **** Gunshot_(Earth-616)**

**Serestus- **** Serestus_(Earth-616)**

**Lobe- **** Lobe_(Earth-616)**

**Sally Fortune- **** Sally_Fortune_(Earth-616)**

**Bobby Steele- **** Bobby_Steele_(Earth-616)**

**Wiccan**

**Speed**

**Portal**

**Motormouth**

**Mindbender**

**Gateway**


End file.
